Chrysanthemum Sunrise
by crazylittlecheezer
Summary: It is said in the wee hours of morning, if one is lucky enough, a crysanthemum sunrise can be seen between the hills of the Fujioka-Walker Ranch...beauty sometimes mingles with blood and deceit. Will SPR be able to untangle a web of lies to save a family?
1. So It Begins

**DISCLAIMER - I do not in any way own Ghost Hunt or its characters. I do, however, own all rights to the original characters within as well as the basic plot for this story. Do be a mooch! ^_^**

**"Chrysanthemum Sunrise" - Prologue**

Lin sighed heavily as he listened to Naru remind him once again of the last case the office had agreed to take on. In fact this was the twenty-second time Lin had been forced to sit silently and review the case, along with the mistakes made during the said excursion, with his young boss, Naru. The entire case from start to finish had been a chaotic clustered mess and had caused more hindrance then help to the team. The mystery had taken place in a small candy shop only a few miles from the SPR office and had turned out to be a malfunction in the store wiring. Timely power surges had been plaguing the store and wreaking havoc within. Of course, the shop owner had been grateful just the same. Naru had been disappointed and angered by the waste of time investigating the candy shop had caused. Naru had also been irked by the "curse", as Lin liked to refer to the evidence tapes regarding the candy incident. He and Mai had fought it out with a sticky pink taffy mess after she had haphazardly run forth into the store thinking the bulging taffy to be a woman stuck in the machine. However, after the taffy explosion and shower she had received, she had been most decidedly proven wrong.

The strange smell had been attributed to a chemical reaction from the sugar and cleaning solutions. Lin smirked at the memory of Naru and Mai being hosed down by one of the softer cleaning agents and water, but scrunched his nose a bit when the memory of the smell came back to him.

"You know Lin I remember the smell too..." Naru eyed him angrily, "...I seem to recall carrying it for several days." Naru threw the case file onto his desk and continued to angrily eye the older Chinese man in front of him.

Lin sighed again turning to him, "You know, Naru, I am not a child. You needn't review this case daily with me. I do not recall making any errors during the case...I believe you and Mai were to blame for most of the..."

"Hello..." Mai's soft feminine voice cut off Lin's dangerous, yet calm tirade and was accompanied by a soft knock on Naru's office door, "...I brought some tea. I hope I am not interrupting anything?" Mai stepped fully into the room as she continued talking, setting the tray of tea down on Naru's desk.

Lin took the opportunity to stand, grab a tea cup and exit the room, "Of course not Mai..." he eyed Naru, almost teasing him with his eyes, "...I was just leaving." Lin swiftly exited the room managing to shut the door on his way out. He silently reminded himself he would have to thank Mai later.

Mai followed Lin with her eyes until the door closed, "Well that was weir..." Mai cut herself off after turning around and seeing Naru's blazing eyes, "...uhhh...I...uhhh...enjoy your tea?" The question was weak at best and she smiled nervously waiting for a response. She was given a frustrated huff and shaking of the head from the young man in front of her.

"Mai it befuddles me how you manage to either have the absolute _best_ timing, or the absolute _worst_ timing in everything you do," he looked up at her from his desk chair and Mai could tell he was scrutinizing her. It was something she had become used to over the past couple of years. Naru enjoyed reading her like a book and Mai did not usually mind the read, however, at this particular moment she could not recall what she had done to deserve such harsh scrutiny from his eyes.

Silently she folded one arm over her chest and raised one finger to her temple in thought. Naru watched her do this and became confused by the movement. He squinted his eyes slightly in frustration again, confusion, when it came to Mai, was something which was becoming more and more common and it unsettled him every time he began to think about it.

"What are you doing now?" Mai turned her eyes to look at him slyly, surprised his words were not to usher her out of the office.

"Well...I am reviewing my day and trying to figure out what happened this morning to create such animosity toward me," she said this simply enough, but Naru was shocked by her use of such a large word. Of course his shock was hidden by his stoic glare, but he had not recalled anything Mai had done, save interrupt Lin's _punishment_, a few minutes before and he suddenly found himself angered by his own actions. He had not come into work today wanting to offend Mai or make her feel badly. He widened his eyes a little as she continued, "I came to work on time, as always," Mai glared at him hard when he had opened his mouth to remind her of the one or two times she had arrived late at the office, "SHUT IT!" Making sure he was not going to utter a word she continued once more, "I made coffee and tea and delivered it like clockwork, two hours ago. I finished my morning filing and I brought you your 'before lunch tea fix' with three minutes to spare...and yet, here you are, still glaring at me like I spiked your tea with cyanide?"

Naru had sat back during her short winded description of her day and he sighed, "Nothing Mai. You have done nothing to warrant such harsh behavior...are you done talking now?"

Mai glared at him lowering both of her arms and shifting her left foot uncomfortably. She nodded and it was obvious his words had deflated her a bit, however, he ignored her and motioned her out with a wave of his hand. Naru watched her go in silence, berating himself for allowing his eyes to drift down to her long legs and short skirt. As Naru's thoughts shifted he lowered his head to his arms and buried his face there. He did not understand how Mai could be stuck in the dead of winter and still manage to wear short skirts to work. Granted she was also wearing tights, but..._"WHAT ARE YOU THINKING! YOU SHOULD NOT KNOW WHAT SHE IS WEARING!"_...Naru shook his head frustrated and looked up, jumping when he saw Mai's face inches from his own, "ACK!"

Mai pulled away from him abruptly, unceremoniously falling into a heap on the opposite side of Naru's desk and pulled herself up quickly and quietly, dusting off her skirt, "Jeez! You didn't have to have a seizure Naru!"

"_What_ are you doing back in here!" His voice was more nervous then Mai could ever recall hearing it and she swore there was a hint of a blush at the base of his neck.

"Well, I forgot to remind you...there is a client coming in shortly and..."Mai heard the main office door open and smiled, "...that must be them. I will take care of tea! Don't be too long!" Mai chirped and bounced out of the room to greet the new client. Naru stared after her, still in a mild state of shock over what had transpired in the last three minutes. He shook his head and stood popping his stiff neck. It was at that exact moment he realized it was going to be a very, _very_, long day.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE - Well here it is, the first installment of the new story in my collection of Ghost Hunt stories: "Chrysanthemum Sunrise". If you want to know more about chrysanthemums or what they look like just type 'chrysanthemum red' into the image google search and you will be directed to plenty of info and pictures. I believe you will all enjoy this story and I hope you will read and review. All of my stories are tied together loosely and there will be mention of past cases in this story, however, it will not be necessary for readers to read the past cases to understand this one. I will be introducing a plethora of my own original characters within this new case so please, if you wish to draw them or use them in anyway I am fine with that, just please give credit to me and ask me first! ^_^ I will have chapter one up later today. Enjoy! **


	2. Easton Walker

**DISCLAIMER - I do not in any way own Ghost Hunt or its characters. I do, however, own all rights to the original characters within as well as the basic plot for this story. **

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Minor errors have been corrected! Thanks Seiyuurabu!**

**"Chrysanthemum Sunrise" – Chapter One**

Naru stepped forth from his office with the enthusiasm of a dog ready to be neutered. He had a headache the size of Niagara Falls and was less then pleased with the direction the morning had taken. He stepped out into the foyer of the office and did a double take at the person seated in one of the comfortable office chairs. Naru eyed the man warily trying to decide if what he was seeing was a live human being or if he was somehow having one of the weirdest dreams of his life.

If he had had to guess the man seated in the conference area was around 30 years of age. Naru noticed his long legs and decided if the man were standing he would seem lanky. The gentleman's hair was a stark natural blonde, but Naru could easily see a couple of hints of grey starting to bloom there; his eyes were a startling crystal blue, which Naru immediately noted were not shaped in the natural Asian manner. This man was either English or American which intrigued Naru slightly. The man was clean shaven and was attired in a pair of dirt covered, worn jeans. Cowboy boots adorned his feet and Naru noted the western plaid and embroidery on the man's shirt, which was rolled at the sleeves. He also had on a large belt with a much too large belt buckle and a white cowboy hat was in between his tanned hands. Overall, Naru believed many women would probably find the man quite handsome.

"Stop staring!" Came a curt whisper from Mai and Naru realized he indeed, was not asleep. He slowly followed behind her bustling little self as she carried forth a tray of tea and set it down on the small table between all of the comfortable seats in the sitting area, "Some tea Sir?"

The man looked up and smiled, "Why certainly, Ma'am. I appreciate the kind gesture," he nodded his head kindly enough; however, Naru could see a deep disturbance within his eyes. The man was frightened and un-nerved by something and from his appearance Naru did not believe him the sort of man to back away from danger or dangerous situations.

Naru sat down across from the man and ushered Mai to sit beside him on the long sofa. Naru sighed lightly at the thought of having to sit on the sofa in the first place. He preferred the chair the man was now seated in, but the sofa would have to do, "Mai? Did you inform Lin about our guest?"

Mai nodded with a bright smile and pulled out her own small notebook and pencil. She was excited to be able to take her own notes about the cases. Naru had purchased a large set of journal type notebooks for her to record dreams and case notes in since the Kazaki incident. The notes had proved helpful to Naru when Mai was abducted as well. Mai pushed the thoughts from her mind; she did not want to remember scary things. She refocused her thoughts and turned her bright cinnamon eyes to their visitor with a smile.

"Naru," she eyed him quickly then returned her gaze to the visitor, "This is Mr. Ea-sto-ne Wall-ker...he is originally from O-kah-hoh-mah, in the USA?" Mai waited for the man to confirm her words.

Mr. Walker sent her a short nod, "Why yes Ma'am...more or less you got it right on the money," he turned his ice blue eyes to Naru's sapphire ones, "It is a pleasure to meet you Mr. Shibuya...man..." he paused shaking his head and held his hand out to Naru who took it out of custom, not manners, "...They weren't kidding when they said you were young."

Naru raised an eyebrow as he pulled his hand back and out of the man's grasp, "Yes, well, that aside it is a pleasure to meet you. I assume you and my assistant Mai have already exchanged formalities," He caught Mr. Walker's nod as Lin walked in, "May I also introduce my other assistant, Mr. Lin Koujo."

Mr. Walker nodded in Lin's direction, shifting his hat slightly, "Pleasure, Sir."

Lin silently returned the nod sitting down in the chair next to Mr. Walker and opened his laptop, ready for any and all notes on the case.

"So, Mr. Walker, what brings you to my door today?" Naru spoke with a hint of sarcasm laced in his tone. Mai punched his arm with her fist which elicited a small chuckle from Mr. Walker.

"Well Mr. Shibuya," he started looking down at his hat, "As you now know my name is Easton Walker. My family hails from Oklahoma and I was born and bred in the states growing up on my parent's horse ranch. Four years ago my parents were killed in a car accident while transporting livestock to another state. It was at this time I acquired property here in Japan from them in their will," he paused, looking up, suddenly serious, "Have you heard of the Fujioka-Walker Ranch?"

Naru's eyes widened and he dropped his pencil in shock at the words, while simultaneously Lin stopped typing mid-sentence, "Are you implying, that you Sir, are indeed, the sole heir to the Fujioka-Walker fortune?" Naru's voice was solid and stoic.

Mr. Walker nodded, "Yes Sir. I am it. The line ends with me...well sort of. But let me get back to the details at hand. I have been living on the ranch property for the past two years. At first I simply handled affairs from America, but family issues, as they sometimes can, caused me to sell the American ranch and move here."

"Family...?" Naru's question was obvious. If the Walker family line ended with the man sitting in front of him, Naru was confused how a _'family'_ could be involved.

"Well, you see," he started again fidgeting with his hat once more, "When I was a little boy, my father hired a Japanese family as ranch hands back in Oklahoma. They were Japanese immigrants and in dire need of employ and my parents, being the caring souls that they were, gladly took them on. They had a single daughter, Rika Arai. Rika and I were fast friends. Unfortunately, Rika's parents were killed in the same accident which took my own parents four years ago. Rika has a daughter," Naru eyed him suspiciously, "I know what you are thinking Sir, but the girl is not mine. The circumstances behind Rika's child are Rika's to deal with and explain. All I will divulge is Rika's daughter has always been considered family to me. I took on the fatherly role in her life when no one else would. Her daughter's name is Alice and she is fifteen years old. They are the only family I have left and vice versa. We moved to Japan together, in hopes of starting over."

Mai noticed the sadness in his eyes when he said the last sentence and made note of it in her notebook. It was strange to see a client with such sadness. Fear and anxiety she was used to but this deep sorrow was something new to her.

"Mr. Walker, as much as I would like to hear more about your family life situation, it can wait. What are the details of the case?" Mai turned to Naru with an angry look of disdain at his rude behavior and impatience. The man before them was obviously beside himself with many emotions and Mai did not understand, even after years had passed, how Naru was able to so insensitive to the emotions of others.

"Mr. Shibuya, I appreciate that," Mai turned shocked to hear the man sound so stern in his response. She decided it was not anger, however, but pride lining his words now, "But without the small seemingly insignificant details, one cannot understand the gravity of the events unfolding on my property."

Naru smirked and nodded for him to continue. Mai smiled in a satisfactory way returning her eyes to her notes. She would not dare to look at her boss after that one. It was a pure smack to the face, _"Serves him right for being a jerk!"_ Mai thought silently to herself, deciding immediately, she liked their new client.

"In a historic area on the Japanese countryside, lies a gem hidden away amongst the tall trees surrounding it and grassy hills surrounding it," Mai found she was blushing as Mr. Walker began to speak of his property. She could not help but imagine a fairytale one might here when they are very young and it reminded her of her parents for a brief moment, "Just north of one Japan's most prestigious high schools, sitting on 17 acres is one of this country's oldest and most authentic Western style ranches. Since it was purchased by my family, it is now known as the Fujioka-Walker Ranch. Originally constructed in 1885, the homestead consists of 13 original buildings, a horse barn and corral, a beautiful rose garden, a barnyard, and historic orchards sitting on the still well-preserved land nestled between the misty hills."

Naru shifted in his seat. The man knew his history, that was for sure and he was slowly finding himself being pulled into the man's story. He liked well informed clients for two reasons. The first being it made his job much easier and the second was it meant the client was not an idiot. Naru hated mediocrity in all things, especially people. Tapping his pencil and sure of the fact Lin was probably taking better notes then his headache laden head could at the moment he sat back and listened to the man continue.

"The history of Fujioka-Walker Ranch begins in the year 1885 when a headstrong family man, Fujioka, decided to build profit off of the American ranching industry. In 1886, 36 year old Kenji Fujioka and his brother Hitaichi became interested in investing money to create a fruit ranch on the property. They saw the huge market for ranching in the US and started their homestead just north of where, the now modernized, downtown Tokyo would eventually exist. By 1918, Fujioka had the most prevalent ranch in the area which consisted of over 2,000 acres near Tokyo."

"Fujioka had several structures built on the land such as homes for the ranch hands, friends and other family members. The Adobe House was the first to be constructed and was the home of Martin B. Hallowell, who served as the ranch's first American superintendent. The horse barn and blacksmith shop were built next. The ranch had a large array of animals such as horses, mules, cows, bulls and hogs. He added hundreds of rose bushes, trees, various types of plants, and a large pond with a bridge which takes you to the gazebo on the island built into a small lake on the property."

Mai had stopped writing as she listened to Mr. Walker describe his property. She could imagine all of the beautiful plants and structures which most likely dotted the landscape and found her in a cotton candy world filled with princesses and romance novels.

Naru eyed her, silently rolling his eyes at her reaction to the ranch. He assumed Mai had never been privy to leaving the country and had most likely only seen western styled buildings, one would see on a ranch, in movies or books. He sighed once again turning his attention back to the man who had continued on without a beat.

"Fujioka was a regular visitor to the ranch but never made it his permanent residence. He did, however, have total control in every facet of construction and day to day operations of the ranch and its beautiful grounds. By 1890, American Harry T. Undercook took over as the superintendent and continued to plant fruit orchards and grain crops, under the watchful eye of Fujioka."

"On November 8, 1898, Fujioka moved his family to the ranch after his youngest son, Akemi, was stricken with tuberculosis. His doctor told him that moving him to a warm, dryer climate would be better for his health. As time went on, electricity was added to the ranch along with an electrical generator to pump water from a well. Automobiles were added in 1905 and used to aid in the work done on the ranch. Fujioka lived on the ranch until his death in 1918, at this time a cemetery was constructed on the ranch grounds and used by all families and employees free of charge."

"The Fujioka-Walker Ranch had several owners after Fujioka's passing. Oliver J. Bradshaw, an English businessman owned the ranch from 1913 to 1927, and then Richard J. Collins bought it in 1927. After Richard's death in 1944, his son Richard Jr. acquired the exquisite ranch and grounds. By 1966, the Kinaki family of Japan partitioned for a federal grant to have the ranch purchased by the City of Tokyo. However, this petition was never met and the Ranch sat dormant for 20 years. It was then purchased by the American Walker family and has been looked over ever since, first by my parents and now by myself and Miss Arai. My parents decided to refurbish the property from afar occasionally making visits to Japan." Mr. Walker paused looking at Naru as he spoke.

"Well, Mr. Walker, I must say," Naru eyed him with a smirk, "You do know your way around the history of the property."

Mr. Walker nodded and smiled deciding Naru had given him the go ahead to continue.

"Along with many chickens and roosters, hogs and cattle, we have started a huge horse ranching and riding business which is currently being run by Miss Arai on the property. Rika's riding school is one of the top schools in Japan and she has many influential clients," he paused looking at Naru seriously, "As I am sure you are already aware."

Naru gave him a curt nod and he continued, "The first year on property, it was business as usual, however, it was in that first year that stories began to circulate that some ghosts were wandering around," he paused and sat his hat on the table in front of him, "Now Mr. Shibuya, I am a prideful man and I would not normally be sitting in this office, but I can no longer live with the disturbing images and goings on at my property. At first the incidents were small. Some clients have seen the presence of a male ghost hanging around the buildings and grounds of the ranch. Stories began to form and most people decided perhaps it was the spirit of Fujioka still keeping a watchful eye on the old place."

"Rika and myself have seen a woman haunting the Ranch House and this woman has also been seen by some of our guests," he sighed heavily, sipping his tea, "I did some research after that and discovered an old story. It is told that she may have a connection to the Fujioka family. Also the cemetery grounds seem filled with static when one enters them. Strange happenings and occurrences have been apparent over the years and have been the supposed "cause" of several injuries. Also it is said in the wee hours of morning several gallows like shapes and shadows can be seen along a row of trees just south of the main ranch house."

Mr. Walker paused for a moment, "In 1937 the old Fujioka Cemetery, located in a valley between two wide hills on the ranch property, was closed and replaced by the Collin's Cemetery. The bones of the residents buried there were all removed and relocated to other areas of the cemetery. This was done in order to make room for more bodies in the ever growing property. Because some of the records were unfinished and many of the tombstones had rotted away, many feel that there are still buried souls under the Collin's Cemetery grounds where the old Fujioka Cemetery used to be."

"You mean they just left the bodies there without marking who they were?" Mai seemed shocked and then sad when Mr. Walker nodded grimly, "How terrible..."

"Please continue," Naru prodded him.

"Buried in the Collin's Cemetery are many of the Fujioka-Walker Ranch's most prominent residents from its colorful past. Many played important roles in the history of Fujioka-Walker Ranch and are part of Fujioka-Walker Ranch's supposed ghost stories. I believe one of the female spirits to be Miss Kimi Himito, a brothel woman that killed herself after her lover Hitaichi Fujioka rejected her. It is possible little Akemi and Mari Fujioka are buried there too, however, it is impossible to be sure as the headstones and bodies were never located in the cemetery reconstruction."

"Sir I come to you today as a desperate man. A ranch hand on my property was killed last night in the most gruesome of ways," Mr. Walker gulped before continuing, "We found him hanging from a tree with the words revenge written in blood on the trunk. Besides this most recent gory incident the water on property has turned sour several times. We have heard unexplainable sounds in the night. The animals are spooked and no one can even come close to entering the graveyard. There are so many occurrences I could not possibly tell you everything, but Sir, it cannot continue. I don't want to lose a rider if a horse spooks for supposedly no reason or another employee. Please Sir, I need your help."

Naru pondered the man's words for a moment, turning his pen back and forth in his hand, "I am intrigued by your case. However, I am sure you understand an investigation on such a large property will be costly."

"Of course, Sir," Mr. Walker shook his head, "Money is not an issue. It can be replaced; it is people I am worried about."

Naru nodded raising an eyebrow at his words. His face remained stoic; however, he had most decidedly been touched by Mr. Walker's last statement. People were most assuredly not replaceable; he knew that fact all too well.

"Mr. Walker," Mai thought the anticipation of Naru's response was going to kill her. She wanted to take the case so badly she could pee her pants, "We will take the case."

"ALRIGHT!" Mai suddenly remembered herself and covered her mouth blushing and excusing her loud response, to which Mr. Walker chuckled lightly and Naru glared.

"Please have a room for our base as well as two rooms for us to stay in. We will have to conduct this case on property if we want to thoroughly cover the entire area," Naru paused standing, "We will be there tomorrow evening to get set up."

Naru reached out his hand and Mr. Walker, after standing, took it, shaking it firmly, "Thank you Mr. Shibuya."

Naru nodded in response and Mai stood abruptly walking Mr. Walker to the door, "Goodbye Mr. Wall-ker! We will see you tomorrow evening!"

Mai turned after shutting the door behind him and caught Naru staring in her direction, "Yes? May I help the peanut gallery?"

Naru rolled his eyes and ignored her comment, "Call everyone, and tell them it is of the utmost importance each of them is here by noon tomorrow. I am not sure what we are dealing with here, but the property is large enough to warrant everyone's attention."

"Yes," Mai nodded and smiled giving him a salute.

Naru could not help but notice how cute Mai looked when she did that. In fact it was honestly the first time he had really noticed her at all. She was dressed in a long sleeved chocolate covered dress with a high neck and mid thigh length skirt, a light brown and white polka dot scarf was tied around her neck and light brown tights adorned her legs, white Mary-Jane shoes and a white headband finished her attire and Naru had to admit, she looked very smart in her choice of clothing, however, it did remind him of something someone might find in a 1950's fashion magazine. He then noticed her hair which was growing ever longer and wondered why the once quirky, almost tom-boyish girl had decided to grow it out. Not that he was complaining, but her hair almost touched the area between her shoulders now. Naru shifted a bit uncomfortably and smirked in her direction, "Oh... and Mai?"

The young woman turned around to look at him innocently, "The 50's were over about 40 years ago."

Mai flustered and turned away from him crossing her arms over her chest as she heard him retreat into his office and shut the door. She was definitely going to get back at him for that one, sighing; she turned toward her desk and reached for the phone.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: So comes the end to the first chapter. Hopefully it is good. I wanted to give a back story on the case this time before throwing you all full tilt into the mystery. This story will be a bit longer then the last, but I promise it will be worth it. I have all sorts of tricks up my sleeve and I am going to use every single one. I think this might be the first "Western Style Ranch Case" the team has ever had on , but who knows. LOL**

**Please read and review and let me know what you think! I enjoy getting reviews and take every word to heart! **

**Also I have linked my homepage as my deviantart site on my profile here. I have several Ghost Hunt related pieces there including a couple of requests for TBoneChick, so if you have the time or want check it out! **

**Read and review! Updates soon!**


	3. Frozen In Time

**DISCLAIMER - I do not in any way own Ghost Hunt or its characters. I do, however, own all rights to the original characters within as well as the basic plot for this story. **

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Minor corrections have been made! Thanks Seiyuurabu!**

**"Chrysanthemum Sunrise" – Chapter Two**

Calling everyone for the current case had proven to be one of the most exciting experiences Mai had had in weeks. She was beside herself with glee thinking about the prospect of being on an American style ranch and possibly getting to interact with farm animals and horses. Of course, Naru had spoiled her fun, almost immediately, reminding her they were not going there to interact with cows and chickens. Mai had stuck out her tongue in response and uttered a hot remark which had earned her a long three hour car ride stuck between Takigawa and Ayako in the backseat of John's car.

_"Damn Naru and his infernal need to always have the upper hand in everything he does."_ Mai stared blankly out the front window, or what she could see of it and turned her thoughts toward her narcissistic boss. Mai was confounded with herself over how she could have fallen for such a know-it-all jerk in the first place. She knew things were different, after the Kazaki incident her relationship with Naru had taken a turn in a new direction, it was just difficult for her to tell which direction it was. Mai found herself sighing lazily and shifting her eyes from Ayako and then to Takigawa. They had been arguing full tilt since they had put their loud butts into the backseat. Mai rolled her eyes in annoyance both at her co-workers argument and the stiff feeling of jealousy she was currently pressed with.

Masako was sitting snuggly between Naru and Lin in the SPR van and probably relishing the fact she was asked to be there by Naru himself. Mai raised an opened palmed hand to her cheek and leaned forward blowing air out of her lips causing them to buzz.

She was pulled from her silent reverie by a hand on her back, "Don't worry kid," Takigawa spoke too loud for such a small vehicle, "We all know _he_ likes you better then _her,_" Mai blushed when he winked in her direction and gave her a thumbs up.

"I have no idea what you are talking about!" Mai flustered through the sentence quickly. She most definitely did not want to have this conversation right now. It was none of their business really, but as Ayako's voice joined Monk's, Mai found herself pulled into the dangerous territory of the current conversation.

"Oh, Mai," Ayako wrapped a motherly arm around her shoulder, "My dear, sweet, lovesick Mai. Whatever will the phony Monk and I do with you?"

"HEY!" Monk lightly punched Ayako's arm and she glared at him with eyes promising a much harder return hit with her handbag later.

"Guys, there is obviously nothing going on between us. We have been through this before. I mean, my goodness, he turned me down once...he said I did not love him, remember?" Mai was angrier then she first thought and Monk and Ayako became silent, "He said I could not possibly love him, that it was Gene I had affections for."

Mai's expression went from angry to downcast in a matter of seconds and she looked down at her hands suddenly finding her fingernails quite fascinating.

"Yes well," Mai raised her eyebrow cleaning dirt out from underneath one of her nails as John's voice broke the uncomfortable silence, "They say time makes the heart grow fonder Mai. I am obviously not a professional when it comes to this sort of thing, but I believe patience is necessary. Kazuya has been through more then we _all_ sometimes give him credit for. Give him some time."

"But that is exactly the problem here. Mai has been patient," Yasu's voice was soft and understanding and Mai could not help but wean some comfort from it, "In fact Mai, I must say you are one of the most patient of women I have ever met. However, you cannot be expected to wait forever. We want you to be happy, so that being said..." Yasu turned full on to meet her gaze, "...Mai marry me!"

Mai's eyes widened and she pulled back quickly and away from Yasu's obvious jests. She smiled shyly as the entire car broke out into fistfuls of laughter and sighed thankful for the reprieve from the embarrassing conversation. She shot a glance out the side window and smiled brightly. Before her eyes she could see horses and what appeared to be men dressed like cowboys out of a picture book she remembered reading with her parents when she was little, "We're here!"

Mai sat impatiently in the car as it drove through a large wooden gate, worn with time and as soon as John's vehicle stopped she practically crawled over Monk to get out of the car. Mai gazed with wide eyes and a huge smile at the scenery around her. It was close to Christmas time and the ground was covered in a thick coat of fresh snow. It had been about three months since the Kazaki case and Mai found herself reminiscing about the strange and early snowfall which had befallen them then. She still believed the spirit had caused the strange weather, but of course she had no proof.

Mai decided to "investigate" some of the area around her. She took a snow boot glad foot and stepped cautiously over to a wooden corral fence, climbing up onto the first rung and looking out over the expanse in front of her. Mai smiled as the cool winter air touched the skin of her face, causing pretty roses to form on her cheeks. She let her jean clad legs rest against the wooden beams and opened her brown coated arms to the wind. It was not until a bit of time she noticed a lone horse inside the corral. He was on the far side of it keeping to himself and Mai smiled in his direction.

Mai did not know much about horses, but she decided this one must have had a bit of a rough life. His coat was a dusky brown in color and his back sported a black stripe. Mai also noticed his black mane and tale flapping in the wind. She winced as the horse made small circles on his side of the pin. Every time he turned she was able to see a horrendous scar on the side of his back hind leg and hip. Mai found herself wondering how such a magnificent creature could happen upon such a scary looking injury.

Naru sighed as he jumped out of the SPR van giving a hand to Masako, who had been seated securely between himself and Lin for the entire three hour journey. He stared stoically ahead of himself as he felt her carefully exit the vehicle. It had been the most horrible car experience he had had in a long time. He sighed, knowing he had only himself to blame for the experience. Naru also decided Masako would most likely be absolutely terrible to Mai because of his remark about her affections during the long journey out to the property.

"Thank you _Sir_," Masako's voice was already full of spite and brooding. Naru sighed heavily nodding his head in return. When she had released his hand he stretched his aching back and left leg. He would be missing therapy during this case, but had promised his parents he would see to doing what exercises he could while away from the city. Naru shut the van door and turned to look out at the property and his eyes were met with something unexpected.

Mai was standing on a wooden corral fence, propped up against it with her arms open. Her thick white scarf was blowing in the frigid air. Naru was taken aback at the easy and simplistic nature of her actions. She was something else; wild, carefree, too trusting...Naru was frazzled from his silent musings when an arm wrapped around his shoulders and shook him gently. He turned his head to look at the offending hand and then turned it again to come face to face with Takigawa.

"You know..." Takigawa removed his hand and arm before Naru had to tell him to, "...things like that are rare and don't come knocking things over everyday."

Naru simply glared at him and was actually glad Mr. Walker's voice happened into earshot at that exact moment, "Mr. Shibuya! Thank you so much for making the trip out. I hope it wasn't too inconvenient, I know the snow can sometimes make the hills a little treacherous."

"It was fine. Thank you for agreeing to accommodate my team," Naru bowed his head properly and turned to face Mr. Walker, "Might we tend to introductions inside?"

"Of course! Follow me!" Mr. Walker smiled brightly, "Rika has cooked up some mighty fine dinner for you all!"

Ayako's eyes shifted at the mention of food, "Thank goodness! I am starving and the trip was absolute Hell being stuck in a backseat with Phony Monk all afternoon!"

"I will choose to ignore that comment," Monk's voice was quivering with anger.

"Good!" Ayako's reply was punctuated with a swift smack of her purse to his head.

"OWCH! WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?" Monk screamed clutching his now sore head.

"Earlier!" Ayako walked past him with her nose in the air, "Start moving!"

Yasu, John and Masako held back laughter as the two older SPR members started the long trek to the main ranch house. Soon they, too, followed in silence; Lin following the group slowly, in the van.

Naru turned toward his young female assistant, obviously still enjoying the cool winter breeze, "Mai...we are moving. Let's go," his voice was loud, but impassive and Mai turned her head to look at him with a disappointed glance. She jumped easily down from the fence and started walking toward him slowly. She blushed when she realized Naru's eyes were still on her, in fact, they had never left her. She smiled at the thought as it flittered through her brain. However, she was pulled violently from her own little world when she heard his voice screaming at her to watch out, "MAI! GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

Mai had only enough time to lift her head when from out of nowhere a dark brown horse galloped in front of her. The horse was at least fourteen hands high and was built with muscles of a champion. It had a dark ebony mane and tail and bright brown eyes. Time seemed to slow down for Mai as the horse nearly trampled her. She gazed up in shock as the wind rushed around her, the horse was going at a full gallop and a rider was perched on its back.

As time slowed Mai took in the girl perched there, she seemed to be around her own age. She had long black hair, which flowed in the bitter wind, curls floating in the air like confetti at a birthday party or wedding. The girl's skin was a soft shade of olive and covered a very thin and athletic frame. Resentful caramel brown colored eyes, shaped like large hooded almonds glared in Mai's direction. Mai could not remember ever seeing such an exotic woman before. She was wearing jeans and white tank top which was covered by a red paisley unbuttoned shirt, a bandana was around her neck and tied in knot, the tails falling against her collar bone. The red paisley shirt whipped in the wind as she sprinted by.

Before Mai quite knew what had happened the girl and horse were about thirty feet away from her and seemed to be headed for a corral a bit further out from the one Mai had been gazing into. She turned to follow the horse and rider deciding it best to hold her tongue. Before she knew what had happened Naru and Mr. Walker were at her side; Naru standing silent and stoic and Mr. Walker prodding her to make sure she was alright. Mai remembered nodding silently and turning to Naru who laid his hand on her shoulder briefly.

"Jesus Christ! Alice! What the Hell were you thinking?" Mr. Walker shouted loud enough for the young woman to hear and she rounded the stallion, turning him back in their direction and started running him directly in Mr. Walker's direction. He stood his ground and just before anyone could shout or scream the horse came to an abrupt halt in front of him. The female rider glared angrily from Easton to Mai and jumped out of the saddle, "You could have killed someone."

Easton's voice was softer and he tilted his head in Mai's direction then looked back to the girl, all now knew as Alice, giving her a disappointed look. Alice simply shook her head and glared hard for a moment before turning away from them. She effortlessly pulled herself back up and onto the enormous horse beside her without a word and stared down at Easton expectantly.

"Dinner in thirty minutes...don't be late," he sighed heavily, scratching his neck, "You know how your mother hates waiting for you."

She looked up and out toward the corral Mai had been staring for a moment. Mai could not help but notice the sadness in her eyes as she gazed out toward the lone horse being held there. Alice turned her eyes back toward them and without another word she let out a swift, "Hee-ya," kicking her horse and once more almost trampling Naru, Mai and Mr. Walker.

Mr. Walker sighed heavily and turned toward the two young persons beside him. Naru's arm had wrapped protectively around Mai when the girl had once again taken off and he removed it cautiously, "Sorry about that, Alice has, well, she is a special girl."

Mai shook her head with a soft smile before Naru could say something stupid and insensitive, "It is okay," she glanced back at the lone horse she had been admiring and pitying earlier, "We all carry some scars."

Naru turned to look at her with a stoic expression and found himself shocked into complete silence by her words. It took him a moment to realize Mai and Mr. Walker had already caught up with the rest of the crew. Silently he sighed, chancing a glance at the scarred horse in the corral behind him, "I suppose we do," his words were so soft he was almost unsure whether he had actually said them or not. Sighing, he started toward the group, the soles of his shoes crunching the now ruined layer of snow.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: I liked writing this one very much. I have almost succeeded in introducing all of the main characters. I will try to have the next chapter up sometime tomorrow evening! I hope you all enjoy this one as much as I enjoyed writing it! Thank you for all of the reviews!**

**Please continue to send in reviews so I know how I am doing. You can also ask questions about the story or leave suggestions as well. I really do read them all! ^_^ Just remember if you ask a question I won't be able to respond unless you sign in! Have a wonderful evening everyone!**


	4. Rika Arai

**DISCLAIMER - I do not in any way own Ghost Hunt or its characters. I do, however, own all rights to the original characters within as well as the basic plot for this story. **

**"Chrysanthemum Sunrise" – Chapter Three**

The trip to the main ranch house was cold and silent. The wind had picked up a bit as the team had trekked through the snow and it was obvious to all of the SPR employees, more snow was in their not so distant future. Ayako shivered slightly and noticed Masako and Mai follow suit. She already had an ominous feeling about this case and could not help but feel a little vulnerable in what seemed a desolate wasteland of American toys and animals. She hated ranches and farms and anything which did not provide the comfort and security of an up-town flat or condo with weekly facials and manicures. The smell was also something which disgusted her, however, she knew the money would outweigh the short period of discomfort.

"OH MY GOODNESS!" Ayako turned her head, suddenly, being pulled from her thoughts by Mai's once again ecstatic voice, "It is a log cabin! An ACTUAL log cabin!"

Ayako smiled; seeing Mai practically jumping with glee, made her happy. She often found herself worrying over how lonely the young girl appeared most of the time. Ayako was not sure if she would have been able to make it through such a short, sad, young life. Mai was strong, for her age, and Ayako was proud to have her in her around. The older woman decided her younger comrade was a positive influence on her sometimes stuck-up nature.

"You act as though you have never seen something like this before, Mai," Naru's voice was quiet and impassive as he lazily crossed his arms.

"Well, I haven't…stupid!" She turned to glare at him for a moment before once again turning to look at the log structure. Mai tried to take in every bit of the magnificent home in front of her. It was quite large, being two stories high, and every wall seemed to be fortified with huge logs and resin of some nature. There were windows carved out of the logs which were accompanied with evergreen colored shutters and American styled glass. There was a veranda which Mai guessed, wrapped around the entire building and it was made out of the same wood the corrals were arranged from. The front porch had a swing built out of the massive pieces of wood, as well, though the swing had been painted to match the green shutters. A huge front door, painted red was open and inviting them into the big, warm home. Mai was ready to pee her pants for the second time since arriving on the property.

Mai turned to Mr. Walker with a huge smile, "You _live_ here?" He nodded in reply and she was about to ask more questions, when a confident female voice ushered forth from in front of them.

"What are you all still doing? Standing out there in the cold like wild dogs! Has Easton learned nothing about Japanese hospitality?" The woman seemed to be joking more then angry and smiled brightly at them, "Come in! Come in!"

Her hand was enough to convince them and they started to remove their shoes in the customary Japanese way, "What are you doing?" She placed a hand to her head as if she had just remembered something important and spoke again, "Silly me...I forget...leave your shoes on. You are in America here!" She smiled brightly again and held the door open for them to enter.

The whole of SPR, save Mai, entered the home without a second thought and easily made their way into the large dining room. Easton's eyes traveled to the lone Mai who was still standing in the entry way with shock and awe written across her face. He smiled as Lin passed by the girl shaking his head slightly, muttering a quick, "Forgive her," to him in passing. Easton chuckled softly.

"You really haven't ever seen something like this before, have you?" Easton's voice was gentle and understanding and Mai turned to glance at him with a blush rising to her face.

"No Mr. Walker," Mai blushed more when he sent her a dashing smile, "I mean in picture books when I was little, but never anything like this. It is amazing!" Mai smiled once again turning from him and stepped inside the large wooden structure. Mai gazed out into the various rooms and areas of the home which were visible to her. To her right, was a grand sitting room with a huge fire place and leather sofas. Every fixture and piece of furniture in the house that could be, was made out of the same wood as the outside. Ornate American rugs lined the floor and between the two sofas was a large coffee table. To Mai's left was an area for coats and muddy cowboy boots and she slowly slipped out of her coat and scarf adding them to the huge pile already there. Right in front of Mai was a huge kitchen; again it seemed to be built out of wood, with modern appliances stuck in here and there. There was also a huge and wide staircase built out of logs which, more then likely, led to the upper level of the home. On all of the walls Mai found different ranching artifacts and items which were most likely from a variety of Native American cultures.

"This is amazing...I must be in a dream..." Mai was so taken by the natural grandness of the homestead before her eyes she did not notice the woman who had greeted them sneak up behind her.

"Well you certainly are in a state of wonderment, my dear," Mai jumped out of her skin when the women's arm wrapped around her shoulders and she shot one of her hands to her heart blushing again.

"Now don't scare the poor girl, Rika," Easton chuckled, removing his hat and hanging it on a post near the coats, "She had quite the scare already. I am afraid _your _daughter nearly trampled her to death with Chippewa Sunrise."

Rika's happy face turned immediately sour and she removed her arm from Mai, turning to look at Easton full on, "You're kidding! And I suppose she won't be joining us for dinner either?"

"I doubt it..." his reply was nonchalant.

"Well!" the woman, Mai now knew as Rika, turned to face her again and smiled, "This way dear...dinner is already getting cold!"

Mai smiled and followed her forward toward the huge dining room. The woman in front of her was very beautiful, in fact, Mai believed her to be one of the most beautiful Japanese women she had ever seen and decided she reminded her of a plain clothed Geisha. She was about five foot tall and had long jet black hair which was twisted into an intricate Japanese knot. Mai noticed she was full figured, with curves in all the right places, and her skin the same light olive color as Alice's, her face shared no similarities with her daughter, however. Where Alice had seemed exotic, Rika was most definitely Japanese through and through. Mai also noticed she was wearing a pair of very expensive designer jeans. Mai's eyes traveled up to her top half and she noticed a silk almost kimono style shirt, red in color, it extenuated her already drop dead gorgeous figure. Mai could not help but feel slightly envious of the woman's beauty but quickly shoved it aside as she took a seat next to Monk at the dining table.

"Well...what are you all waiting for? Dig in!" Rika smiled and once again ushered them forth with her hands.

After eating, Mai smiled brightly; glad she was able to have an experience such as this in her life. She had always been a sheltered and quiet child up until she had joined the SPR team. Mai had never done things like talk back, sleep in late, or let go and just go with whatever life threw her way until meeting Lin and Naru. Her life had never really allowed for such behavior, however, Mai was finding herself questioning the "why" behind her previous mind set more and more. She had never really had a reason to be so straight laced and boring.

So many doors had been opened for Mai when SPR had somehow happened into her monotonous little life and it was something Mai would eternally be grateful to Naru for, even if he did not realize it or care.

"Would you mind telling us a little more about the occurrences which have been taking place here?" Naru's voice cut over the rest of the side conversations going on in the dining room and Easton turned to look at him fully.

"Of course, Mr. Shibuya, for about the last twelve months the property has become a very different piece of land. I suppose, the first thing, I noticed was the almost heavy and static feeling you get after being here for a while. It is almost like a heavy weight always weighing you down. I have had several ranch hands become so overly exhausted they have had to feign away from work as of late. As you can imagine, this is not conducive to a ranch this size. After this feeling started seeping into our bones the appearances began to occur, and at first I did not believe a word of it, however...I soon saw the 'spirits' roaming the property," Easton paused to sip a bit of coffee out of a sturdy porcelain mug, "As far as I can tell the spirits have only been seen inside this house and in the main horse barn, however, horses have become spooked over nothing in several of the corrals."

"Yes, and that is dangerous business when I have young riders on top of the said horses," Rika shook her head shuddering at the thought, "If one of them were to become injured or killed, well, I would not forgive myself."

"That is why we have chosen to suspend the riding school until all of this gets sorted out," Easton continued giving Rika a short nod of encouragement and sympathy, "Several of my workers have become injured and one even lost a hand in one of the plows - of course all of the doctor's reports chalked these injuries up to farming accidents – however, I have had 52 injured employees in a period of twelve months. It is too many, for too short a time and I do not hire careless people."

Naru raised an eyebrow, "Are the machines kept in a specific area of the property, Mr. Walker?"

"Well, yes and no, each area of the property has the equipment necessary for operations in that section of the ranch. There are outlet style buildings to house all of the pieces of equipment," Easton responded.

"I see. How do your employees get from area to area on the farm?" Naru continued his line of questioning.

"Usually by horseback and most of my employees either own a horse on property or have the skills to ride. I do have two small golf carts and some ATV's for more modern means of transport, however."

"I see..." Naru nodded his head in understanding, "Please continue."

"Well we have recently had several workers fall ill, suddenly, when working near the old cemetery. They come down with almost unexplainable symptoms, cold, fever, stomach cramps, sore throats," Easton sighed, "I attribute this to something of the supernatural. These are usually hearty men and women; they are used to hard work and long days."

Easton paused for a moment before continuing, "And, of course, the most significant occurrence was about two weeks ago, now. An American worker was found in one of the cherry trees hanging from a crudely tied noose. The police ruled it a suicide, but I disagree with the findings."

Naru watched Easton shake his head angrily, "And why is that, Mr. Walker?"

"Because," he glared at Naru, "I know a lot about knots and ropes and there is no way in Hell that man could have tied that knot the way he did on his own. It was unreal and on top of the sad way the worker died, it seemed as though he had been slashed to pieces with deep winding cuts. It was horrible."

Naru sighed letting his finger slide around the outside rim of his large mug of tea. It was now obvious to him, as knowledgeable as Mr. Walker was about the history of the ranch, he lacked any common knowledge about spirits and the supernatural. Naru looked at Mr. Walker with scrutiny in his eyes and decided the man did not seem overtly upset over the loss of his employee, "You seem oddly at ease with the death. I wonder...why are you so un-phased by it?"

Easton was taken aback at the young man's intuition, and he seemed immediately angered by his loose, yet still present accusation. Easton was about to respond with a heated set of words when Rika's hand shot forth and stopped him into silence, "I can answer that question," Easton seemed shocked by her sure voice and tight grip.

"Rika...you don't have to do this..." Easton eyed her warily.

Rika simply shook her head and sighed heavily, "I know, but I am sure Mr. Shibuya and his team would like to know the full extent of the problem. Sir," she turned to look at Naru fully removing her hand from Easton's, "We have been through our share of strenuous and unspeakable events. You could say the recent '_death'_ is a drop in the bucket compared to the laundry list of baggage we have ensued over the past few years," Rika swallowed and let air escape her lips slowly, "As I am sure you are all now aware, Alice, is my daughter."

Rika watched each of them acknowledge the fact and she continued, "The circumstances of her birth are...complicated."

Naru nodded slowly, "Please continue, Miss. Arai."

**AUTHOR'S NOTE - ****New chapter and cliff hanger. LOL Sorry I am so evil, but I just had to end it here. I didn't want to put too much shock into your systems just yet. This is the last "lazy" chapter for a while, I promise starting with the next chapter you will be taken on an action packed thrill ride. O_O I have some crazy stuff up my sleeve...be ready!**

**On another note, I wanted to take this time to let everyone know the subject matter of this story will be quite adult and at times very vivid, so just know that now. There will be nothing a 14 year old or older would not see on TV or in a PG-13 movie, but it will be much more adult then the last cases.**

**Thank you for the reviews! I APPRECIATE THEM SO MUCH! Please continue to read and review it takes just a short moment of your time! Much love! Updates soon!**

**The Crazy Cheezer**


	5. Frozen Memories

**DISCLAIMER - I do not in any way own Ghost Hunt or its characters. I do, however, own all rights to the original characters within, as well as the basic plot for this story. **

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Some minor to more major editing and storyline problems have been fixed here! Thanks Seiyuurabu!**

**"Chrysanthemum Sunrise" – Chapter Four**

Rika took a deep breath as she readied her mind and willed herself into a state of calm. Naru noticed her pensive nature and could tell whatever the woman before him was about to divulge was something she had either not shared with anyone before, or was terrified to say, "Miss Arai..." Naru eyed her carefully, allowing his usual smirk to soften, "...if this is difficult I am not sure it is necessary to divulge it at this time...we can..."

"No..." Rika's response shocked even Naru into silence, "...I am many things Mr. Shibuya, but a coward is not one of them. The information I am about to share is unfortunate and guarded, but I am by no means unable to divulge it," she glared at him with pride filled eyes and Naru nodded silently for her to continue, "I was 16 years old when I became pregnant with Alice. I would be lying to you if I said I wanted her at the time. You see Alice's conception was not one I chose to partake in, I was raped on the Walker property in Oklahoma."

Rika paused for a moment as she allowed everyone present to soak in the information she had just divulged. She knew none of them would expect such news, "One of the ranch hands decided to throw himself upon me in a horse barn. I was young and naive...I did not have much choice in the matter and though at first I loathed the thought of bearing the man's child, I soon grew to love the little life inside of my belly," Rika looked down, reminiscing on old times and contemplating her next choice of words, "My parents were not understanding at all...saying I had brought dishonor to the family and would be tarnished goods," Rika paused once again, lifting her head, "Well, you all know about the traditions in this country...I would have been all alone in the raising of Alice had it not been for Easton. He has stayed at my side through everything."

Mai blushed at her words, every time she thought about Easton and Rika; she could not believe they were not married. Rika noticed the girl's blush and smiled in her direction, "It is quite alright Mai...you are not the first person to be embarrassed by such things," Rika turned back to Naru, "Unfortunately, I was forced to continue living near the man who attacked me. I always knew who had done it, but he had threatened to kill me and my child if I ever told anyone who he was. His name was Alan Townsend, a ranch hand and horse trainer on the ranch back in the states. He was killed in a riding accident and I was finally able to name out the bastard. The Walkers would have pressed charges, but back then I was too worried about the safety of my child. He died a few months before the unfortunate passing of Easton and my parents."

Rika became silent and let out a long sigh. She had never told anyone about the circumstances of Alice's birth and conception, save her immediate family. Alice did not know the real truth either and Rika planned on keeping it that way, "After Townsend's death I have felt an evil presence which I cannot seem to get rid of. It follows me everywhere I go and I thought coming to Japan would allow me to disperse it."

"Has anything of a violent nature occurred with this ominous feeling?" Naru's voice was cool and collected.

"No," Rika shook her head, "I have not had any harm from it, but I cannot shake the feeling that something evil is lurking in the not too distant future," she paused and eyed Naru seriously, "Please, Mr. Shibuya...I ask you and your team to keep the information I just divulged to you at your discretion. I have never told Alice about any of this...I don't want her to know or be burdened with it. I love her...I do not wish her to judge or doubt that love."

Naru nodded his head and motioned to the team, "Miss Arai, you have my sincerest assurance this will stay between us and you. My team prides itself with discretion."

Rika nodded and turned toward Easton who gave her a reassuring smile, "Well then, I best get these dishes put away. If you will excuse me..." with that, Rika grabbed a couple of dishes and headed in the direction of the kitchen.

Mai watched her retreat with a sympathetic glance and sighed lightly to herself. She never would have guessed the seemingly happy Rika and Easton would be burdened with such tragedy in their lives. Mai's thoughts shifted to Alice and the sad expression she had worn on her own face. Alice was still a mystery to Mai and she could not help but wonder what could have possibly happened to the young fifteen year old girl to make her seem so hard.

"Mai...MAI!" Mai was pulled from her thoughts suddenly as Naru's shout shook her from her thoughts.

"Yes?"

"If you are done daydreaming, there is equipment to be carried in and set up," Naru's voice was impassive, though Mai's trained ear could sense the slight onset of annoyance, "After which I require tea."

Mai stood slamming her hands onto the table in front of her and looked at him raising an eyebrow, "Anything else your highness?"

"Yes, more working," Naru smirked, "Less talking!"

Mai fumed clenching a fist and closing her eyes, deciding to count to ten and start walking out to the van instead of returning a response. She did not want to waste her time fighting with him and too be honest she was intrigued by the case with which they had been dealt. It was obvious there was more then one haunting occurring on the property and Mai was still stoked about the idea of staying in such a cool place.

"Mai...why don't you take the luggage inside and find out which rooms everyone is staying in?" Yasu smiled at her.

"Okay...no problem!" Mai was actually thrilled to be given such an easy job and she was excited to be able to explore more of the strangely beautiful house. She was somehow able to get all of her own luggage, as well as Ayako and Masako's things, into her arms and trek them slowly into the house. Rika had met her at the door with a bright smile and lightened her load walking her up the log stairs and into the second story of the house. Mai followed her into a large bedroom with two full beds, an enormous closet and two windows. There was an old fashioned wash table and basin with towels on one wall and an antique American dresser on another. The lamps were run with electricity but styled like old fashioned oil lamps. The beds were covered with American quilts and had the fluffiest pillows Mai had ever seen in her life.

"This is where Miss Matsuzaki and Miss Hara will be staying dear," Rika smiled brightly, "Which of the things are theirs?"

Mai smiled silently and sorted through the different bags leaving the two aforementioned girl's things on the floor inside the room. Mai then followed Rika out of the room and was surprised to see each of the guys bags already on the hallway floor. Mai reminded herself to thank Yasu later, she was sure he was the one who brought them up the large wooden staircase for her. She had to admit, Yasu was very kind to her, almost all of the time. He was a good friend, but Mai could never see herself spending her life with him. Mai knew he had been smitten with her the moment he had set eyes on her. It had been obvious, but Mai also knew her heart belonged to one man alone.

Mai quickly, with Rika's help, divvied the guy's bags up between the two rooms they would be sleeping in. John, Yasu and Takigawa would be sleeping in a room down the hall and Naru and Lin would be sharing a space in Easton's room. Mai turned to Rika with a slight grin feeling a little forgotten and left out. Rika had not yet disclosed where Mai would be staying during the trip.

"Oh now..." Rika lifted Mai's chin gently with her hand, giving her a quick wink, "I did not forget about you dear. Follow me!" Rika smiled and turned grasping both of Mai's bags before Mai could protest and started down the stairs. Mai trailed behind her confused and shocked at the woman's quick and jolly movements.

Silently, Mai passed the other team members and ignored their jokes about her getting herself kicked out so quickly and followed Rika to a small cottage which she had not noticed before. The home looked cozy and reminded Mai of a story from when she was a very small child. It was one about bears and a little girl who broke in, it had been a bit strange and Mai could not remember the title, but she remembered the house from the illustrations in the book. She watched Rika open the door and she smiled brightly as she was greeted with a bright warmth. Inside the small cottage were vibrant colors, pinks, purples and multiple shades of blue. There was a set of bunk beds a twin on top with a full bed on the bottom. There was a set of pink suede couches in front of a warm and burning fireplace and off to the right was a small kitchenette. Everything in the cottage was made of wood and it reminded Mai of a small version of the larger house, but this wood was the color of a soft blonde pine. Propped on one of the sofas was the silhouette of Alice reading a novel and chewing on a piece of chopped up apple.

Mai turned to Rika with an unsure glance, "I am not sure this is such a good idea..."

"Nonsense," Rika smiled rubbing her shoulders encouragingly, "Alice requested you stay out here with her."

Mai glanced back at Rika unbelieving, but she was met with an honest nod of the head, "Alright...as long as I am not imposing on anyone."

"You are most assuredly not," Rika smiled and turned leaving the small cottage and heading back to the main house. Mai turned to look at Alice and jumped when she noticed the girl was already glaring at her in a very skeptical way. Before Mai could blink the younger girl had stood up and come within mere inches of Mai. Alice circled Mai with the eyes of a vulture, seeming to take in every aspect of the slightly older woman before her.

"Uhhh...nice to meet you to?" Mai half smiled and blushed a bit when she heard Alice respond with little more then a grunt in her direction, "Well, it seems you don't talk much, do you?" Mai watched the girl who just stared back at her stupidly. Mai could now see, just how beautiful Alice was. She reminded Mai of a woman out of a legend or piece of mythology, "You ride very well," this seemed to satiate the girl's attitude enough for her to produce a short smile before returning to her book and Mai was about to continue when the door to the cottage opened quickly.

"Mai...I hate to interrupt, but Naru needs you in the main house. Base has been set up in the front sitting room and I guess we are heading out to the cemetery before sunset," Takigawa sent a nod in Alice's direction as he held the door open for Mai.

"See you later tonight Alice," Mai smiled brightly and waved to the quiet and pensive girl.

Back at the main house Mai shivered as she stepped inside. She had not had time to grab her coat before making the short trek to the small cottage and she was regretting it. She had been in the cold air just long enough to cause a slight chill to creep into her body. She was greeted unceremoniously by Naru's cold voice.

"Finally," he glared at her, "I thought I told you to make tea?"

"Well..." Mai glared back placing her hands on her hips, "...I got sidetracked...I..."

Mai was shocked into silence when she saw Masako step into the sitting room with a smug grin spread across her pretty face. She was carrying the pot and cups which should have been Mai's to carry and Mai could not help but feel jealous. Mai found herself fuming silently and blushing from embarrassment as Masako neatly poured tea for each of the team members, "Tea, Mai?" Mai sneered at her seemingly innocent voice.

"No thank you," Mai had not intended her response to be so tart, but she found herself not caring, _"Just you wait Masako, just you wait till you meet Alice...she makes you look like the heavy end of a barf-bag!"_

"I want to investigate the cemetery before dark. Miss Hara, Father Brown, Takigawa and Miss Matzuzaki I want you four, along with Yasuhara, to take temperature readings and set up cameras inside the house. Miss Arai and Mr. Walker will show you the main places for concern. Cleanse any areas where Miss Hara senses higher then usual activity, maybe we can beat these spirits at their own game," Naru paused as each of them nodded in response, "In the mean time, Lin, Mai and myself will investigate the cemetery grounds. I want to try and make it out the cemetery before sunset. We will meet back here at base by 10 PM. Are there any questions?" Naru scanned the room for a moment, "Good. Let's go."

The Collin's Cemetery was located a decent distance from the main area of the ranch experiencing the brunt of supernatural phenomena. After a painstaking amount of pressure from Naru, Mr. Walker had managed to find an old map showing the location of the cemetery and assumed locations of each body buried beneath the now grass covered soil. Mr. Walker had voiced his concern with the team before they had journeyed, but in the end he had lost to Naru's stubborn attitude.

Lin and Naru were seated in the front seat of the van and Mai had been placed, unceremoniously in the back, which was, to say the least, a horrendous riding experience. Ranch plus van plus dirt roads plus Mai equaled a very unhappy young woman. She did not understand why she was being forced to ride in the back of the van, when Miss Princess Masako had been allowed to squeeze between Naru and Lin for the entire journey out the ranch.

The sun had already started to set when the SPR van pulled up in front of the lonely Collin's Cemetery gate and the sun reminded Mai of an orange gumdrop on the side of strawberry iced birthday cakes, one might happen upon in a candy shop. She quickly turned her thoughts away from that of candy and candy stores. Mai still found her small frame cringing every time she thought about the last case and the mess which had been caused by her rash instinct and Naru's harsh words.

Mai was ripped from her thoughts by the immediate halt of the vehicle. She crawled up from the jumbled heap which had become herself and peered out the van window, past the male heads obstructing an otherwise perfect view. The gate of the cemetery was swinging with a gentle breeze and creating an eery sound of metal against metal. Mai shuddered at the thoughts which began to creep into her brain, she did not like creepy things and yet she was enthralled by them. This business she had haphazardly found herself immersed within, these past couple of years, was what she lived for and she honestly could not see herself doing anything else with her life. In fact, Yasu had questioned her several times which Universities she would apply for after finishing high school and she had managed to change the subject quickly and quietly before the conversation could take off.

Mai shook her head, clearing her thoughts and looked back to the gate in front of them and she squinted seeing a smaller metal sign attached to one of the huge metal posts supporting the gate, "Gates locked at sunset," Mai shook her head frustrated, "So what are we supposed to do now Naru?"

"Well obviously we look for another way in Mai," he sighed in agitation as he opened his side of the van, "You really do amaze me with your keen ability to be dumber than dirt sometimes."

Mai flustered at his words and took a deep breath trying to remain calm and was about to respond, however, before she could she managed to bite her tongue. She refused to fall prey to his teasing it was not worth the grief. Mai watched the two older men exit the vehicle and waited for them to let her out of the back of the van. Naru had told Lin to install child locks on the back doors after the taffy incident and Mai blushed at the thought. She was almost nineteen years old, trapped in a van with child proof locks due to her own bad judgment. Her face turned to a dejected pout as Lin opened the back and she jumped out.

"Be careful Mai," the young woman raised her head at hearing Naru's voice and turned to look in his direction, "Your face might freeze that way."

Mai, once again decided to ignore his insults, choosing instead to take a look around their current surroundings. Lin had parked near a small white building which was probably, at one time, used for services. While Naru and Lin tried to find a way inside the cemetery grounds, Mai stood outside and kept watch. Not all of the grounds people new about SPR's presence on the property and Mai had learned very quickly the repercussions of this. Lin and Naru soon realized they could not bust down the door, so they just gave up gaining access by that avenue and started searching for missing pieces of iron within the wrought iron fence. Finally, after walking nearly a quarter of a mile, the two men found an even older gate at the back of the cemetery to gain entrance inside.

The cemetery was much bigger than Mai had expected it to be. Looking out, upon the cemetery, there were many rows of headstones that seemed to go on forever. The graves were varied in age and some stones were on the verge of collapse. It was difficult to tell whether or not this was from lack of care or general wearing. The first headstones the team came upon were newer and had dates as recent as 2003 engraved into them. As the three ghost hunters walked on, the dates began to get older and older. Some dated as far back as the late 1800's and Mai could not help but shiver at the thought of how creepy the decaying masses of marble and limestone made her feel.

As the sun continued to set the cemetery became dark and ominous and the entire team began to since an ominous feeling all around them. Naru stopped walking at the exact moment Lin did and both men eyed one another, "Naru, my Shiki are sensing something."

Naru nodded and silently grasped Mai's forearm, drawing her nearer him. Mai glanced down at his gesture and looked up at him in silence. She was a little shocked he would do something so bold, "Naru?"

He turned to look at her fully, "Stay close and don't do anything stupid," the request was kind enough to receive a curt nod in his direction from the young woman and she grabbed hold of his suit coat, hand shaking, only slightly. Mai grimaced as she saw Lin ready to whistle. She most definitely did not want to have to deal with a ghost right now. The cemetery was creepy enough on its own, Mai did not need a ghost to make it the penultimate creep zone.

It was in the next moment, Mai started to feel dizzy and ill while walking with Naru toward a set of two headstones. The graves were close to each other, but nothing was written on them, their owners a mystery worn by time and natural elements. As Naru moved closer to that particular area, Mai felt her stomach turn into knots and cramp uncomfortably. She could feel bile rising in the back of her throat and cringed at the burning sensation it caused. Panic soon joined Mai's nausea as she started hearing whispers all around herself; giving the young woman uncomfortable chills. Before she could warn him, she began to fall forward against Naru's still advancing form.

Naru turned abruptly, ready to tell her how dumb she was to have tripped over the terrain, however, he found himself instantly silent as Mai all but fell into his unsuspecting arms, "MAI!" Naru caught her easily enough and eased her now dead weight down to the soft ground. Mai had fallen asleep before, but never in such a sudden manner. Naru looked the girl up and down noting every inch of visible skin seemed to have taken on a sickly white to green pallor. She was a little cold to the touch and her lips were beginning to turn a nasty shade of purplish blue. His eyes went wide and he ignored Lin's worried shouts at his side, he threw his fingers to Mai's neck checking her pulse and immediately ripped them back and away, the temperature of her body made Naru's insides stop for a moment. She was still breathing and her heart was still beating, but she was slipping into a very advanced state of hypothermia, in short, her body was turning sub-zero before his eyes.

Before Naru knew what he was doing he had ripped not only his winter coat off, but his suit coat and shirt as well, wrapping first the shirt and then the coats around her still chilling body, "Lin...van...now!"

Naru, clad only in a white undershirt, easily lifted Mai's body and began a rapid return to the vehicle. Lin and Naru threw themselves into the van, Lin in the front and Naru in the back cradling Mai in his warm arms. He had placed his bare arms under the cocoon of warmth he had created for his young assistant and he found himself attempting to keep her as warm as possible. Naru's eyes were betraying his stoic face; he was terrified. He did not want her to die, not like this, so cold and alone.

His worry, however, began to subside as the van pulled further and further from the graveyard because Mai's body started to gain back some heat and vitality. Her lips began to return to a pretty shade of pink and her skin was once more regaining a healthy peach glow, "Lin...keep driving! It is helping!"

Soon enough, Lin managed to get back to the main house and as soon as he shakily parked the van he rushed to the back throwing open the doors. Naru was still cradling Mai in his warm embrace and gazing down at her face. Lin let out air he did not realize he had been holding when he saw the young woman open her eyes, "N...N...Naru...?"

Her voice sounded dry and exhausted, "Are you awake?" his voice reminded Mai of the warm fire she had been embraced with inside the log cabin when she had first entered it before dinner. The warmth was so enticing and engulfed her still frigid and shivering form.

Naru sighed and squeezed her unconsciously in a silent thanks she was indeed alright, "N...Naru...?" he pulled out of the embrace and looked down at her once more, "I th-think I am g-going to be si..." before Mai could finish the sentence vomit spewed forth from her mouth onto Naru's chest and neck. His face remained stoic and calm as she once again fell silent, though this time, from exhaustion and he heaved a heavy sigh.

"Well better out then in, right Naru?" Takigawa's voice made Naru shoot an unhappy glare in his direction as he silently stood, exited the vehicle and made his way into the house with Mai in his arms. Naru was not sure what had caused such a violent display from his assistant, but he sure as Hell was going to find out.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay here is the next chapter! I hope you enjoyed reading and I sincerely want to thank you all for the reviews! They are very helpful! I will try to make the chapters longer from now on! Also I wanted to remind you all that this story will revolve around some pretty adult themes, as you hopefully noted in this chapter. So if you are of the faint of heart please know this now!**

**As always please read and review! I am off to work on the next chapter! Also this is not meant to be a cliffhanger...but I think it might have turned into one...sorry about that!**

**Read and review for cookies and cakes and TEA! LOL**


	6. Unforgiven

**DISCLAIMER - I do not in any way own Ghost Hunt or its characters. I do, however, own all rights to the original characters within as well as the basic plot for this story. **

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: This has now been edited! Thanks to everyone who helped me out! I send cookies and cakes to you! ^_^**

**"Chrysanthemum Sunrise" – Chapter Five **

Naru sighed heavily as he pulled on a clean, black, button down shirt, buttoning it and tucking it into his pants. He was beside himself with the current situation even though his face remained impassive and calm. He cursed silently, wishing he was more capable of displaying some sort of emotion, but he knew his own placid demeanor was what held the team together emotionally sometimes. Someone had to be calm and stoic; someone had to keep their wit about them; someone had to be the adult. Naru shook his head, clearing the frustration which was beginning to build and pulsate near his temples. He did not need a headache on top of everything else at the moment. Unconsciously, Naru re-buckled his belt and eased into a clean suit coat. Taking one last look at himself in the small mirror within Mr. Walker's room, he exited toward the large wooden staircase.

He smoothly glided down the stairs and immediately turned his attention to Mr. Walker when he noticed him at the bottom of the stairs. He slowed to a halt and glared at the man for a moment. Naru had not decided whether or not he was going to blame Mr. Walker for Mai's sudden and violent display and seeing the man so soon after the incident was making Naru's blood boil.

"Mr. Shibuya," Mr. Walker met his glare with a serious and unchanged expression, "I did press you to stay out of that cemetery."

"Yes, well," Naru let his eyes turn hard and venom was present in his tone, "You forgot to mention it would be locked _along_ with the severity of the situation. My team member could have been killed."

"Please," Mr. Walker, "Mr. Shibuya, let's continue this conversation somewhere a little more private. I don't want to worry Rika anymore then she already is." Mr. Walker motioned with his head to the sofas in the sitting-room-made base. Naru glanced over his shoulder to see the elegant Japanese woman in a fret over Mai's current state. It appeared she had left Naru's clothes and coat on the girl, but had added a thick American styled quilt to the mix of warmth and stoked the fire. Miss Hara and Miss Matzuzaki were sitting on either side of Rika upon the sofa, opposite the still unconscious Mai. It appeared they were attempting to keep Miss Arai calm. Lin was typing in the corner of the room and guiding the team members who were still setting up cameras.

"Alright," Naru's reply was short, quiet, and impassive. He followed Mr. Walker through the kitchen and out of the main house. It was bitter cold outside and Naru had to force himself to keep his arms crossed stoically and not react to the icy air nipping him. The honest truth was, he was freezing in the wild night air, but he was too prideful to admit it. If Mr. Walker could stand it, so could he. Naru was suddenly met with a bright light and brilliant warmth as Mr. Walker opened a door to a storage shed which was a good hundred feet from the main house and Naru walked inside shuddering for a moment before remembering himself. He walked closer to the old fashioned stove which was lit in the center of the work space. Naru guessed this must be one of the many sheds on the property which housed tools. On the walls he could see all types of hammers and saws, rakes and hoes, chains and plow teeth; and they were scattered about in almost decorative arrays.

"You will have to excuse the mess," Mr. Walker added a bit of wood to the old fashioned stove, "This is one area of the property Rika is forbidden from. You know how women can be with there decorative sense and fashion."

Naru eyed him strangely for a moment, not sure how to respond to Mr. Walker's former statement. The man had spoken in English, clear as day English, and Naru was suddenly cautious wondering how the man before him knew he could understand his words. Naru decided to stay silent and looked away from him, as if he had not said anything to him directly.

"I am sorry..." Mr. Walker sighed heavily, once again talking to Naru in Japanese. He removed his hat and set it on a wooden beam which already had a lasso rope keeping it company. He gently let one of his hands sift through his silky hair, "I sometimes forget I am in a different world here in Japan. Rika taught me Japanese back in the states. I never thought I would use it to the extent I do here. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"Mr. Walker," Naru relaxed the glare he had set on his face and turned to face him fully, "Has anyone ever become this ill so violently or quickly in the past upon entering the cemetery?"

Mr. Walker shook his head, "No...it is what I wanted to discuss with you. It has usually taken days for my workers to suffer any type of symptom. This...this was unexpected. I can tell you the symptoms are reminiscent but not entirely the same. Your assistant seemed close to death..." Mr. Walker paused, "...it was never my intention to cause anyone harm by bringing you all here."

Naru could see the sincerity in Mr. Walker's words and the distinct worry his entire body was displaying. He was indeed unsettled by the current situation and Naru decided, for the time being, to trust the man before him.

"Why were the cemetery gates closed early tonight?" Naru turned from the man and walked over to one of the walls of the shed, reaching out he let his fingers trace over the various instruments hanging there. He had never been interested in more "manly" activities and practices. Most of his young life, Naru had been a self proclaimed book worm, which was normal considering the fact he was a child genius...a prodigy of sorts, "If I recall, it was not yet sunset when we arrived at the grounds."

Mr. Walker sighed heavily and shook his head angrily, "Well Mr. Shibuya, my workers have become quite bereft over the entire situation and happenings here. I cannot blame them for being overcautious," he sighed heavily again and met Naru's eyes as the younger boy turned to look at him fully, "I will speak to the groundskeeper...his actions could very well have cost that young woman's life."

"I have one more question," Naru looked at him calmly, lowering his arms, "Mr. Walker, were the workers you mentioned earlier...the ones who became ill...were they female?"

Mr. Walker looked down for a moment before turning his head back to the young CEO, "Yes...every one of my employees who have become sick out there were women. You see I have men work on the actual terrain and deal with the movement of bodies and digging of sites, but I have several women who tend to the cleaning and re-flowering of the graves themselves. It is the most frail of the these female workers who have had symptoms start to show."

Naru sighed and nodded, "I will need to interview each of them in the morning. For the time being, I suggest everyone get some rest. Lin and I will keep watch in the base and look over Mai for the night. I implore you to have Miss Arai stay with her daughter for the time being. Obviously, whatever is happening on your property does not like the current population change or our presence. It seems to me it likes being in control and if I had to make a guess whatever is haunting this property, at least the section near the graveyard, has been doing it for sometime. It will be safer for everyone involved this way."

"Yes..." Mr. Walker nodded, "Agreed."

_Mai was enveloped in darkness and all she could remember was feeling colder then she had ever felt in her entire life; followed by a brief discussion with Naru. Mai shivered in the darkness and rolled her eyes as another memory hit her like a ton of bricks. She hoped to God it was a false memory, caused by exhaustion and such a swift shift in her body temperature, however, she was pretty sure she had become ill before passing out into the serene, yet bone chilling calm, of her dream realm. Naru would kill her when she woke up if she had truly puked on him. He would probably get sick just so he could return the favor. Mai cringed at the thought and felt her shoulders shake slightly. She was still so cold...it was cold enough here that she could easily see her breath and feel her body shaking in an vain attempt at warmth._

_Mai turned in the darkness and as she turned she was greeted with a warm light. The light began to envelope her and she found herself drawn into it. Mai had to close her eyes as the light became so bright it hurt her eyes. When she felt the light in front of her begin to fade, she opened her eyes and blinked several times. The scenery around her had transformed from a staunch and endless black to that of the graveyard they had been in earlier._

_Mai felt her dream self flinch slightly as fear overtook her. She did not need a repeat performance from the early evening puking festivities which had transpired. Suddenly, from behind herself, she felt a warm reassuring hand land gently on her shoulder. She turned abruptly and came face to face with a black clad figure. His deep cerulean eyes were gently gazing down upon her and his lips were curled into a sly grin._

_"Gene!" Mai lunged forward into his warm embrace and could not help the relief which leaked into his name as she spoke. She had been terrified ever since the Kazaki incident about Gene's whereabouts, "Gene..." Mai leaned back and punched him lightly on the chest, "I have been worried sick! What happened to you after the Kazaki mystery? You never came back after that! I thought your spirit had been destroyed!"_

_Gene simply smiled lightly, taking her still frigid hand, "Nothing happened to me Mai...I am right here. I have been sleeping."_

_Mai decided to take his explanation for the time being and sighed heavily. She was too tired to fight with him over the matter and she knew if Gene was present in her dream, there was probably some significance to it. She sighed heavily and looked up at him a shiver rolling down her spine, "Why is it so cold here?"_

_"Follow me..." Gene spoke softly, dropping her hand starting toward a familiar set of stones within the cemetery. Mai cringed slightly but followed diligently. As they trekked through the graveyard Mai noticed things around her changing and when they arrived at the two stones Mai was shocked to see Gene attired in an old fashioned black suit and wide brimmed hat. Mai couldn't help but notice how strange he looked in the new clothes. It reminded her of Halloween and she held back a light chortle, "Don't laugh too soon..." Mai's eyes widened as he looked her up and down and she followed his gaze._

_Mai was shocked to find herself wearing a black dress, which would have been stylish if she was living in the early 1900's. A tight corset was around her waist and the skirt of the dress was heavy and full. The neck was high and Mai decided she had never been more uncomfortable in her entire life. A hat was on her head, and though she could not see it, she knew it was small and carried a full fishnet veil because the netting was covering her face as she gazed ahead of herself and blushed toward Gene. She gazed into his eyes and took the silent hint to stay quiet and pay attention._

_In all honestly Mai had become quite used to having strange dreams. It would not take a genius to realize her dreams were becoming more vivid and useful and Mai guessed it most likely meant her powers as a medium were growing. She sighed and noticed a raindrop spatter against Gene's suit coat and then another touched his waist coat and dripped down a silver pocket watch. Unconsciously Mai felt herself open a parasol she did not realize she had been holding and lift it up to accommodate Gene's taller form. She eyed him strangely as he pushed her away from him with a sneer on his face._

_Mai was confused and about to question his odd behavior but before she could a deep male voice ushered forth, "Friends, family and fellow mourners, it is my solemn duty to welcome you here on this sad day..." Mai glanced around her and was surprised to see about twenty people consisting of men, women and children all crying or near tears. Each of the individuals was dressed in black and all the women had parasols which matched her own. She was standing by herself, she noticed and it seemed the others were avoiding her silently. Mai turned to glance behind her and was shocked to she a horse drawn cart about twenty feet away. There were two black horses at the head of the cart and a man perched in an elegant driving seat. The cart was square and encased with glass. _

_Mai felt her eyes widen and tears brim the edges of them as four men, also in black lifted two small white boxes out of the cart. As the men drew closer Mai felt herself bring a hand to her mouth in shock. The men were not carrying boxes, they were coffins and from the size, Mai guessed they were built for children. They were barely three and a half feet long and as the men came closer the people present became more laden with grief. After what seemed like an eternity the coffins were placed in front of the man, Mai now assumed to a preacher. He reminded her of an old fashioned version of John, and Mai could tell he was just as heavy with grief as the rest of the small congregation of people._

_"It is with a heavy heart and soul I commend the spirits of these two young bodies to the Almighty God in heaven. Akemi and Mari Fujioka, beloved children of Mr. and Mrs. Fujoka and siblings of Kyo, Suji and Kayumi Fujioka passed two days ago in a tragic accident. I would like to offer up a prayer in honor and remembrance. Almighty God, creator of Heaven and earth, I commend these two young souls to your eternal and everlasting love. May you keep them always at your side and guide them in their journey with you. We that are left behind, grieve, with heavy hearts at the loss of two, so young and full of life, though we know as we walk through the difficult and dark shadow of the valley of death that we do not walk alone. You are with us always; in our comfort and tears; in our joys and sorrows. Oh Lord, help us move past this heavy grief and in time heal our constantly questioning hearts. As we bury these two let us remember life is but a short bridge to our eternal rest with you. It is in your eternal and loving name that we here pray glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, both now and always, and to the ages of ages. Amen."_

_Mai could feel tears rolling down her cheeks as she watched the sad scene play out before her eyes. Gene stood stoically and if Mai had not known better, she would have thought he was Naru. He was the only person, besides the preacher, who had not shed a single tear. Before Mai quite knew what was happening, she was swept up in a gale like wind and found herself sprawled in an old fashioned bed. The room looked familiar, but she could not quite place where she had seen it before. _

_She gazed around and shifted on the fluffy mattress, wincing a little bit as the old piece of furniture creaked slightly with the shifting of her weight. Rolling over she widened her eyes as they met the bare back of a man she had never seen before. He was seated on the edge of the bed and was, thankfully, clothed in a pair of old fashioned trousers. Suspenders were still attached to the pants, though they were down and pooled at either side of his hips. He appeared to be crouching, his arms resting on his knees and his hands layered on the back of his neck. The man's hair was a deep mahogany in color and Mai could tell he was wearing a pair of spectacles. His skin was covered in a light sheen of sweat as the moonlight poured into the room._

_It was at this point Mai blushed, realizing she was barely clothed at all. She peered down at herself seeing a set of old fashioned female undergarments and silk stockings which were being held up by garters. Mai was about to burst with embarrassment when she felt her voice speak on its own, "Hitaichi...come back to bed?" Mai felt the words slur forth from her mouth and she realized she was now enduring the memories of a spirit. She felt her heart race with fear as she recalled the last time something of this nature had happened. She had been asleep during the Labyrinth case and had relived a spirits death. She gulped unceremoniously and felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. _

_"I don't recall paying you to speak," the man's voice was rough and Mai felt not only her own fear but the spirit's as well. _

_"Why so cruel? I cared about them too...you know...I did," Mai once again felt the words spill forth on their own, "Come back to bed..."_

_"I said to be quiet!" Hitaichi snarled in response and quickly turned backhanding Mai so quickly and with so much force she was thrown out of the bed, sprawled out onto the floor in a tangle of sheets. Hitaichi stood threateningly and walked toward the now disheveled woman on the floor and though Mai knew Gene would never hurt her in such a way, for some reason he had become one with the offending man before her. Mai hated it when her dreams worked like that, she hated seeing Gene in someone else's memories. "I did not ask for your comfort or your imaginary feelings...I did not pay you to care!" A swift kick ushered forth and Mai felt herself cringe with pain as she cried out and attempted to cover her now aching stomach._

_"Hitaichi...please..." Mai's voice was tired and strained._

_"Shut up!" Another swift kick punctuated the short exclamation and suddenly before Mai quite knew what was going on there was a blast so loud she felt as though she should have covered her ears, but at the same time she couldn't. Mai looked up at the man in front of her with wide eyes._

_He was standing with his legs apart, a pistol in his right hand, gunpowder floating in the air. Mai placed a hand to her belly realizing a bullet had pierced through her. She lifted her hand to see it smeared with blood and turned her eyes back to the man before her. Her eyes spoke immeasurable amounts of horror and terror as she met his own sorrow filled orbs. The bare skin of her belly was quickly becoming wet with the deep thick red pouring from her gunshot wound. _

_"I will never forgive you Kimi...I will never forgive you for any of it..." Hitaichi was in hysterics and Mai barely had enough time to scream, before he lifted the still loaded pistol to his temple and pulled the trigger. Mai continued to stare in horror as he fell, first to his knees and then forward onto the floor, near her prone form. For a moment she fell silent, but then a cry of anguish ushered forth and everything turned black._

Mai's scream had been loud enough to wake the dead and living. Naru and Lin had been so in tune with watching the TV screens and listening to silence her scream had more then unsettled them. Naru shot up without a word and was instantly at her side attempting to shake her awake, "Mai...MAI!..." not wanting to, Naru slapped her across the face and winced as he saw a bright red imprint start to form there. He felt a wave of relief wash over him when Mai opened her eyes and focused them, however, his relief soon turned into more worry when she met his gaze and frantically tried to pull away from him.

"NO! GET AWAY! GET AWAY FROM ME!" she was violently throwing her arms at him trying to repel him from herself.

The rest of the team and Mr. Easton had hurried down the staircase to take in the scene in the base room. All were silent and waiting to see what was going on and Naru could see the fatigue on their faces.

"Mai..." Naru kept his voice even and calm, "Mai...calm down. It is me...Naru. I need you to calm down and remember where you are. You had a dream Mai...but you are no longer in that dream," he paused for a moment attempting to hold her still, "Mai...please." There was a slight crack in his voice with the last word.

Mai finally stopped her flailing arms and through her sobs took a deep breath and looked at Naru. Before she knew what she was doing she shot forward and wrapped herself around him, "I was so scared...I thought...I thought I was going to die. He shot...and then...killed...and then..."

Naru sighed heavily and decided, for once, the situation warranted him to comfort her. He gently let his arms wrap around her shaking and sobbing form and patted her back gently, "Miss Hara would you please get Mai a cup of tea?"

Masako silently shook her head and without being asked Ayako followed her into the kitchen, "The rest of you can return to bed...we do not require your eyes or assistance any further."

Each of the team members, though irked by their boss's arrogant words, decided it better to let them slide and do as told. Easton stayed behind for a few short moments before he too turned and climbed back up the staircase.

Once they were all out of sight Naru looked down at the still crying girl in his arms. She was terrified and Naru decided this was worse than the Urado case. Mai had been scarred before, but not like this. She had never been scared of him, "Mai, I need you to tell me what you saw," Naru sighed heavily when another set of jumbled responses shot forth from her mouth.

"Mai, I need you to calm down and then tell me what you saw. Unfortunately one of the languages I do not speak fluently is hysterical eighteen year old female gibberish," Naru smirked when he felt her jab his side with her fist. He took it as a sign she was at least beginning to find her center and regain her composure. Naru looked up when Masako and Ayako came forth from the kitchen with a full cup of tea and a full tea pot to match.

"Thank you Miss Hara," Masako stood silent with Ayako as if waiting for him to say more, "You may leave now," at his next response Masako slit her eyes and with an upturned nose stalked back up to the room she shared with Ayako, who was not far behind.

Naru pulled out of his embrace with Mai and reached for the cup of tea, handing it to her carefully and watched as she took a small sip. He silently waited for her to look up at him and begin her story of what happened. Lin was already facing the two young people sitting on the sofa ready to type everything into the database.

"Well...it started out at the cemetery...there were all these people, along with Gene and myself, however, we weren't really Gene and myself, we were reliving spirit memories," Naru wanted to ask about his brother, but he held his tongue because he knew there was a better time and place to make such inquiries, "There were two coffins – two child sized coffins – and I learned I was watching the funeral services of Akemi and Mari Fujioka. They had died...and the stones we were at earlier...they were buried there. Then the dream...well the dream shifted..." Mai quietly sipped from her tea again contemplating how much she was going to divulge about the next part of the dream. Neither she nor Gene had been "decent" during it and she still felt embarrassment from the situation.

"Go on," Naru's cool tone put Mai at ease.

"Well I was in a bed and Gene was sitting on the side of the bed...I spoke to him and as the spirit spoke through me I learned Hitaichi was the person I was speaking to. He turned and backhanded me to the floor, then before I knew what had happened," Mai was in tears again, "He shot me in the stomach...I learned I was re-living a spirit named Kimi's death...oh Naru, there was so much blood. So much blood everywhere. Before I could move Hitaichi, in the form of Gene, shot himself in the head...OH GOD..."

Naru winced as Mai dropped the tea cup and buried her face in her hands, once again falling into a hysterical sobbing mess. He was not shocked by the dream itself, but by the sheer amount of terror Mai had in her words, her voice, her eyes. He could not imagine how painful the dream must have been for her, to see Gene do such things. He sighed heavily and pushed a tired hand through his hair. Before he quite new what he was doing he stood and planted himself beside Mai on the sofa, wrapping an arm around her still shaking shoulders unceremoniously. He almost blushed when he felt the girl scoot closer and bury her head on his chest. After a short period of minutes he sighed again, realizing she had fallen asleep against him. He looked at Lin who raised an eyebrow and silently decided he would rather stay and let Mai sleep, than chance moving and rousing her. Lin silently assured him he would continue the watch and Naru nodded in return. After a few more minutes, Naru found the warmth Mai's body was creating, too be far too inviting to sleep and lazily he drifted off.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay next chapter is obviously up now...I did not have as much time to edit this as I wanted, so if you notice a mistake somewhere, feel free to let me know in your review! Constructive criticism is always welcome and greatly appreciated!**

**Also I wanted to let you all know I will be going out of the country from June 9 through June 21. I will be traveling to Haiti for six days and from Haiti to Zimbabwe for six more, before returning here to the states. That being said, I will not be able to have computer access for that period of time. I will be writing more for the story by hand, however, so that means daily updates when I return! Hopefully daily updates on my return will make up for the time lost in-between. Also I made sure to leave this chapter without a cliffhanger for this reason. ^_^**

**Thank you so much for your continued support! I am so glad to see so many people who enjoy the stories I have written for this fandom! I love you all dearly and keep each of you in my thoughts and prayers...even those of you who do not review! ^_^ That being said please take the time to write something after reading...I accept anonymous reviews so feel free to leave a little comment! Thank you all so much!**


	7. Realizations

**DISCLAIMER - I do not in any way own Ghost Hunt or its characters. I do, however, own all rights to the original characters within as well as the basic plot for this story. **

**"Chrysanthemum Sunrise" – Chapter Six**

Naru awoke to the vibrating and piercing wail of his cell phone alarm buzzing in his back pocket. He attempted to shift his position to silence it, however, he suddenly remembered doing so would be difficult because his younger, female assistant, was comfortably sprawled out on both himself and the sofa. Naru sighed heavily with annoyance and rolled his eyes, silently asking himself how he managed to get into such recurrent awkward situations with the girl sleeping peacefully beside him. Quickly, Naru decided the repercussions of moving and possibly waking Mai were less annoying then the loud and obnoxious noise emanating from the small object beneath him. Shifting quickly, Naru managed to pull himself out of the mess which was Mai and assemble her into a decently comfortable position on the sofa. He smirked as she shifted rolling to face the back of the couch and gently he covered her with a hand crocheted blanket which had been conveniently laying on the sofa back.

In one movement Naru managed to turn and pull out his phone, turning the alarm off. It was a little past five in the morning and Naru found himself stretching his weary form. He looked up into the still semi-dark space and was met with Lin's passive and dark eyes, "Sleep well?"

Lin's tone was cool and held no real sense of emotion, but Naru knew better. He knew Lin was attempting to tease or mock him. Naru smirked, deciding it would be unfair to blame his older associate and friend. He _had_ allowed himself to fall asleep sprawled in the arms of a young female woman; who was, also his co-worker. Naru hung his head slightly, rubbing his temples in new found annoyance, "Lin...it is too early for this."

Lin shot him a curt nod of response and turned back toward the computer screen again. Naru silently stalked into the kitchen area and was surprised to find Rika and Alice already alert and responsive at such an early hour. Naru noted the dark and almost annoyed glare Alice was shooting his direction and nonchalantly ignored it when Rika's voice piped up, "Coffee? Or tea perhaps?"

"Tea please," Naru kept his response short and sweet. He could tell Miss Arai was still disturbed by Mai's erratic behavior the night before, but he could not shun her for her ability to keep her cool. She was probably terrified underneath her seemingly calm facade. Naru knew all too well how difficult it was to keep appearances up in times of distress.

"Here you go Mr. Shibuya," she smiled kindly enough as she sat a warm cup of tea in front of him and hurried herself back to one of two ovens, "I made fresh cinnamon rolls for everyone this morning," she hummed while she carried one of two piping hot baking sheets over to a cooling rack on the island of the kitchen. Naru watched as she did the same with the second sheet of steaming cinnamon rolls. She then began to brush a white sugar glaze over the tops of the pastries, "Mr. Shibuya, may I ask how your assistant is fairing this morning? I know she had a rough time of it yesterday and I was worried about her."

"She is fine," Naru sipped his still hot tea and looked at the woman before him, "Nothing a good night's sleep can't take care of," Naru paused as a 'humph' found its way to his ears. He turned to look at Alice with a raised eyebrow, it shocked him slightly that the girl had been so bold. He turned to look at her fully and smirked a little bit. He was caught off guard by the way she held his gaze, however, he kept his face impassive. He noted the sadness within her eyes, there was a spark of defiance and anger, but mostly sorrow. Naru sipped his tea again, never letting his eyes leave the young girl's caramel colored orbs. They reminded him of his own sad eyes, the sorrow in them was eery at best and Naru decided at that moment, Alice was most definitely hiding something. Naru also decided he would leave her secrets alone for the time being. They were worthless to him unless they pertained to the case at hand and currently, he concluded, they probably did not. Naru would have continued his staring match with the young woman, if the silence had not been broken by her mother's cheerful voice.

"Alice, go ahead and grab a roll. I know you love to pick yours out first," Rika smiled at her daughter brightly and pushed the now plated rolls in front of her. Alice turned to look at her mother with a deep blush and obvious embarrassment before standing up and stalking out of the house through a door on the side of the kitchen area. Rika sighed heavily and looked after her with a frustrated glance as she sat the tray back down on the counter, "Damn that child of mine...she is so undeniably stubborn sometimes. I wish..." she paused and lifted a hand to her forehead in annoyance, "...sorry I didn't mean to lose my temper, Mr. Shibuya."

Naru eyed her with an emotionless gaze and continued to take sips from his tea. It was decent tea, he decided, though he rarely drank his tea black. Mai knew the perfect combinations of milk, not cream, and sugar. Of course, it also depended on which flavor of tea he was drinking. Naru guessed the tea in his current cup was a dark leaved tea of some nature and he could pick up hints of jasmine as he slowly sipped it down. His silent musings were suddenly interrupted as Ayako and Takigawa burst forth from the sitting room already in a full blown argument. Naru silently stood, grabbed a now warm roll, and quickly exited the kitchen. It had been early enough ten minutes ago when he had to deal with Lin's suggestive comments, but being forced to listen to the much too loud arguments of the priestess and monk was something Naru refused to acknowledge all together. No hour of the day was appropriate for their idle and unimportant chatter.

It was not that Naru hated being social, he rather liked carrying on conversations with people, it was that he hated useless conversations and arguments. 'Nothing fights', as he had dubbed them, were both pointless and bothersome. He hated wasting his time with idle chats which were unimportant to his existence and he could not understand why people continuously wasted their own time being involved in them. Gene had always been the more social twin and Naru had forever been in awe at how easily he had been able to talk with the people around him. Gene had always carried a charm and amazingly keen wit about him and Naru had often found himself green with envy at his brother's 'people skills'. It was not that Naru did not want to talk to people, he just was never very good at it. His emotions were a second thought when compared to his desire to learn and his thirst for knowledge.

Walking back into the sitting area Naru found himself quite relieved to discover Mai had roused herself from sleep and was now stretching and yawning on the sofa. Although Naru noticed her, he kept silent and walked over to Lin and quietly began conversing with the older man. Mai watched him just as silently and then looked sourly in the other direction. She did not understand why Naru insisted on being the world's biggest jerk sometimes. Yawning again Mai's attention was captured by Masako's voice, startling her from her still tired musings, "Mai...I believe it would be advisable for you to get changed. I highly doubt you need any more help being deplorably attired, wearing the same set of clothes two days in a row would be horribly disrespectful to our hosts."

Mai glared at the girl in front of her, who was coyly hiding her face behind the sleeve of her kimono. She was blushing with anger and embarrassment from the young medium's words and was slowly losing her cool. This did not go unnoticed by Naru who had turned and watched the one sided conversation take place, "Yes, Mai, she is right. Masako would you please accompany her to Miss Alice Arai's quarters? Mai's things were left there last night," Naru said this coolly and calmly as he returned his attention to the computer screen in front himself and Lin.

Mai had turned to look at him while he spoke, shocked he had said anything about the situation and she turned back to gaze at Masako when he finished, shooting her a victorious grin. Mai stayed silent, but on the inside she was throwing a party of excitement as she watched Masako fume. It was not too often Mai had the upper hand when it came to Masako and Mai had to admit. It felt great.

"Let's go," Masako's contempt was easy to read as she walked past Mai, her nose in the air and her eyes closed. Mai silently followed her to the door and after both girls adorned coats they stalked off toward the small cottage Alice resided in.

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It did not take long for the team to assemble themselves in the sitting room and by six they were ready to branch out to their respective locations. Naru had designated Takigawa, Father Brown, Miss Hara and Miss Matsuzaki to scout the prospective areas of the property where haunting and strange occurrences had been taking place. They were to identify and exorcise any areas where spiritual activity seemed present. All four gawked at the request, though after a short loss in defiance on Ayako's part, they plodded off to the areas they had been asked to observe.

Naru had then explained he, Lin, and Yasuhara would conduct interviews with the workers who had encountered paranormal activity in the confines of Mr. Walker's barn. This left only Mai with nothing to do and Naru had decided it best for her to remain neutral on the property for the time being. He did not want to risk her safety again so early on in the investigation.

"But NARU! Why do I always get left behind!" Mai paused crossing her arms in an obvious and uncharacteristically young manner, "I never get to investigate! I don't even know why you promoted me if my job remains the same!"

"Mai," Naru's voice was passive, "We are not having this discussion."

"What do you mean 'Mai, we are not having this discussion', it isn't fair! Why do I even come on these investigations if I do not have a purpose!" Mai fumed glaring at Naru with anger in her cinnamon eyes. Naru simply ignored her response which only egged Mai on more and she clenched her eyes shut in frustration, "I am not a little kid Naru! You don't have to treat me like a child."

Yasu suddenly stepped forward standing in front of Mai, knowing full well she would most likely stick her foot in her mouth if he did not intervene, "Mai, none of us think you are a child. We just want to keep you safe. You are a very important asset to the team. You should know that by now..." he paused and laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "...you had a rough night. We don't need to extend it, just take this extra free time to relax and enjoy," Yasu smiled kindly and ruffled her hair when she let out an exasperated sigh, dropping her arms.

"Okay..." Mai spoke quietly in a defeated manner and turned from the three men as they exited the house and made their way for Mr. Walker's barn. Mai did not have to turn around to know Naru did not even send her a passing glance as he exited, "It would have been nice to hear it from him...just once," Mai sighed heavily and decided it was silly to cry over something so trivial as Naru ignoring her again. It was not as if he had never done it in the past, Hell, he did it all the time, "Well...I should make the most of my day then. Forget him..." Mai turned and gently pulled on her worn out, but still warm, brown coat over her light pink wool sweater. She had decided to wear a pair of jeans today in hopes she might be allowed to ride one of the horses on the property, she wasn't sure if it would even be possible given the circumstances, but she hoped. She had never even seen a horse before her stark encounter the day before, but she decided it would be fun to at least be able to spend some time around one. Sighing again Mai made her way to the front porch and smiled as the sun began to show it's belly on the horizon in the distance. She continued to watch and as the sun shifted up a silhouette could be seen on the fence she herself had been leaning on the day before. Mai could not make out who the person was and decided she would do some investigating of her own.

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Naru, Lin and Yasuhara had managed to make a mini office out of Mr. Walker's 'barn of retreat'. Easton had been shocked at how quickly they had thrown the space together. He peered into the room where saddles had once rested on saw horses to soak up much needed oil and smiled slightly at the piece of plywood which had replaced the saddles to form a table top. He really had not wanted to pile the saddles on the floor for the day, but trusted Naru's word the space would once again be his by evening. Easton was quite excited, to be honest, because Naru had asked him to sit in on the interviews and he was enthralled with the aspect of learning more about the strange young ghost hunters.

Naru smirked as he noticed Mr. Walker's look of pure excitement and giddy glee; the man's face reminded him of a young child with a new toy. It reminded him of Mai. Naru immediately shook the thoughts of Mai out of his head and returned them to the current situation. Naru had asked Mr. Walker to sit in and translate English for them during the interview process. Of course it was merely for show and keeping his identity under wraps, but a necessary measure none the less. Naru guessed most of the people working for Mr. Walker spoke either Japanese or English and he did not want his perfect, non-accented English voice to be discovered or recognized. The only party privy to his true identity was his team and Naru was set on keeping it that way, "Thank you for agreeing to allow us your space and time Mr. Walker."

Easton lifted his head as Naru's soft baritone hit his ears and smiled, "None to it...I don't mind at all. It is nice to have a day off from the grind. Should I bring them in as they arrive Mr. Shibuya?"

"Yes," Naru's answer was short as he busied himself with some pre-interview note taking. He hoped it would not take the entirety of the day to conduct his line of questions.

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Masako and Ayako had been scouting locations with Monk and Father Brown for nearly an hour, before Masako picked up on true spirit action. She had not felt particularly well upon getting to the property originally and had not been pleased about having to locate the spots and areas which were more or less problematic. She had felt nausea and had a headache for the past 18 hours or so, but as she and Ayako trekked up a hill about a half mile from the ranch house, the nausea and headache increased ten-fold. She stopped in her tracks and peered out into a hedgerow of trees, warily. The spirit she sensed was not visible but very strong and very angry, "Miss Matsuzaki...please stop for a moment. I am sensing something...serious," Masako had raised her arm in front of Ayako in an almost protective way.

Ayako eyed the younger woman's arm, her face a mixture of confusion and annoyance. She did however, listen to Masako's asking and waited for another response, folding her arms across her chest and biting her lip impatiently.

Masako ignored the pouting priestess and continued to look out at the hedgerow in an attempt to pinpoint the spiritual energy. Masako was honestly quite unnerved by the energy she had picked up on. She could not ever remember sensing something so filled with malice and hate. Even the Urado case had been different, the demon entity there had been filled with mixtures of fear and greed; the spirits full of sorrow, never something so full of hatred, "Miss Matsuzaki? Do you sense anything here?"

Ayako widened her eyes at the medium's question, "No...should I be? I thought you were the one who excelled in detecting spirits," Ayako rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest in a bored manner as she spoke.

"Call Takigawa and Father Brown," Ayako raised an eyebrow at Masako's direct and demanding tone.

"Excuse me...but I am not one of your servants or assistants I hav..." Ayako was cut off by Masako's voice, however, it was different then before. This time Ayako was silent and alert as she noticed Masako's face had turned pale as the snow beneath their feet and her eyes had gone wide, her voice softer with impending fear and doom.

"He's here..." Ayako watched silently as Masako fell face forward into the snow. For a few moments she stood still in shock, but soon she pulled herself together and ripped out her phone dialing Takigawa.

"Pick up idiot!" Ayako was becoming frantic.

"Hello?"

"Took you long enough, phony monk!"

"What the Hell? You call just to chew me out?"

"No! SHUT UP! This is important...I need you and John to get your butts over here. NOW!"

"Why...what happened?"

"It is Masako...she just turned really pale, said something about someone being here, and then passed out. I don't know what happened exactly, but I do know I cannot carry her back by myself."

"Where are you two right now?"

"We are about a quarter to half a mile north of the base. You will see a hill and hedgerow in the distance, I think we are east of your location by about a mile...you need to hurry. It is cold out here."

"On our way..." Ayako listened as the line clicked, indicating the call had been ended. She sighed heavily and bent down to roll Masako over. Shaking her head, Ayako lifted the much shorter and petite woman up so that she was not completely engulfed by the thick coat of snow around them.

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Naru was most decidedly bored out of his mind. So far nine employees had come in to answer questions and none of them had anything pertinent to say. Naru was in a word, frustrated, "Thank you for your time," Naru kept his tone steady as the current employee walked out and a new one came in. He was scribbling fake words into his black notebook and drawing intricate patterns which mirrored Fibonacci number sequences. Taking in a deep breath Naru looked up to assess the person who would be the next inductor of the torturous boredom he was currently engulfed within. Naru, was, however, completely thrown off by their new guest. Standing before himself, Lin and Yasuhara was a young child of perhaps nine or ten. She appeared to be of a Hispanic or perhaps Native American decent and her deep mahogany eyes were racked with fear. Naru could tell she was terrified and his interest peaked. He, of course did not display it for the world to see, but did allow a small smirk to grace his features as he sent a sideways glance to Lin and Yasuhara.

"This here is Sephora Mendez," Easton slowly eased her into the room bit by bit, her big brown eyes warily viewing the strangers who were Naru, Lin and Yasu very carefully. Naru watched her closely, silently noting everything he could about her small frame and demeanor. Sometimes, Naru had discovered people spoke louder in their silence, then their words. The little girl was much taller then a Japanese girl of her age would be, with natural tan skin and her hair was a wild mess of dark brown waves, "Sephora has been with us since before she was born. Her parents worked the land on the old ranch we had in the states. They were unfortunately killed in the same accident which took my own parents and Rika's; when Sephora was four years old. Since their death she has been like a second daughter to Rika and a little sister to Alice," Easton smiled softly down upon her, she was grasping his shirt, "She may be able to help you in some way, but lately she has been having bad dreams. She is having trouble trying to decide what is dream and what is reality. She refuses to speak any English or learn Japanese. I don't blame her...poor girl...she has been through a lot," as he finished speaking he pushed her into a chair across from Naru and she looked down at her hands, almost refusing to look at the trio of spiritual investigators.

Naru closed his eyes for a split second willing himself to be congenial toward the small girl now seated in front of him. She seemed emotionally fragile at the moment and his temper oft times got the better of him around young people. He did not want to scare her into silence, he had a strong hunch Mr. Walker was the one who was having trouble sorting dreams from reality. Naru was trying to decide whether or not to speak with her directly or allow Mr. Walker to translate. Sighing he decided he would rather ask questions directly toward the girl, he was, after all, fluent in five languages, "Sephora ... que es un nombre muy especial para esta parte del mundo. Cuéntame un poco sobre ti?"

Yasu stopped scribbling notes momentarily, in shock, as Naru's voice easily glided through the Spanish words as if nothing had changed. His eyes widened and he glanced at Lin who had not missed a beat. He thought he had learned all there was to know about Naru, the mysterious spiritualist, who was in reality the famed and esteemed Dr. Oliver Davis, however, Yasu sighed in realization he probably didn't know much about him at all.

Sephora lifted her eyes in shock and looked at Naru as if he had grown another head for a moment. She had not been expecting the seemingly Japanese man in front of her to speak fluently in her native language. She eyed him suspiciously for a moment taking in his features. When she looked closer she honestly couldn't tell whether he was really Japanese or not. She decided, whatever he was, he was handsome and that she would respond, "Bueno ya saben mi nombre, señor. Yo vivo aquí con Easton y Rika y Alice ... Me gusta los caballos y Alice prometió enseñarme a montar cuando la gente da miedo salir."

"¿Qué quiere decir con la gente mala Sephora?" Naru looked at her with softer then normal eyes. Honestly he was entrhalled with the whole situation. His day had gone from horrendously boring to intellectually challenging in a matter of minutes. Normally, he felt awkward around children, but this child was very smart and Naru could tell she was also very honest.

Sephora, looked at him awkwardly for a moment and Naru could tell she was trying to decide if she was going to answer or not, "La gente mala ... vienen alrededor de vez en cuando. Alice dice que no se supone que hablar de ellos a nadie."

Naru raised an eyebrow at her words, "¿Por qué?"

Sephora shook her head vigorously from side to side, "Es un secreto."

"Ya veo. Sr. Easton me dice que usted ha estado teniendo problemas con sus sueños. Ha estado teniendo pesadillas Sephora? Las pesadillas, tal vez?" Naru looked at her with patience and she stopped shaking her head.

"Si..." her voice was soft, "Muy aterrador sueños ... sueños donde mí y Alice morir. He visto cosas terribles, señor. Horrible, cosas horribles. Soñaba con el hombre que cuelga en el árbol ... Lo vi morir antes de morir. No sé lo que me pasa ... Alice piensa que estoy loco ... yo veo las cosas ...yo miro a la muerte. También he visto cosas sobre la mujer que ve espíritus. Yo no la conozco ... ella se va a morir."

Naru and Lin's eyes grew large at once when she mentioned the hanging and even wider at the mention of 'the woman who sees spirits', who was obviously Miss Hara, however, Mr. Walker's voice was the first to spring forth, "Sephora! Such stories...you should be..." Naru cut him off.

"I believe she is telling the truth..." Sephora turned to look at Naru who eyed her honestly, Mr. Walker threw his hands up frustrated, while Naru smiled at the young girl, his eyes never changing, "Te creo."

Sephora was not sure why, but just having someone acknowledge her dreams as real and important was enough to allow a huge amount of stress and fear to leave her small frame. She felt tears welling at the corners of her eyes and fought to hold them back, nodding gently and looking down at her lap. Naru was about to ask her more questions, when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket he closed his eyes in frustration and reached down to pull it out. Sighing he answered it, "This had better be pretty damn important."

Everyone watched as Naru's eyes widened and he stood straight as a pin, "Understood we will meet you at the base," sighing again he turned to look at Lin, who had stopped typing, "It was Takigawa. It seems Miss Hara has passed out during the scouting trip, Ayako said the last thing she said before losing consciousness was 'He's here'," Naru turned to eyeball Sephora again and as he did everyone else's heads shifted with his own.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey everyone! So sorry this chapter took so long to get out. I went back and forth about five times on what I would include and what I wouldn't...I also had a little bit of writer's block sneak into this chapter from the beginning of writing it. Good news is, however, the next couple of chapters, following this one, just need to be edited and tweaked. I decided to stick with the original outline and not make changes from my original thought processing. Hopefully, you enjoy this installment.**

**Rest assured, if you are not fluent in Spanish, or do not speak Spanish, the conversation Naru had with Sephora will be fully translated in the next chapter. ^_^ **

**Also, I wanted to let you all know I am slowly getting caught up on the reading side of things, so if you haven't heard from me or seen a review in a while...that is why! I will eventually get caught up! ^_^**

**Please read and review to let me know what you think!**


	8. New Discoveries

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Ghost Hunt or the original Ghost Hunt characters. All original characters I do,however,own and would appreciate being asked before anyone uses them. Don't sue me I have no money! LOL ^_^**

**Chapter Eight -**

Mai warily made her way toward the figure who was silhouetted on the fence post. Mai was not sure whether her choice to learn more about the person perched there was a smart one, but she had always allowed her curiosity to win, over rational thought. It was probably the reason Naru was retaining in the back of his mind to keep her enclosed in what was becoming a very tight net of safety. It was not that Mai meant to find trouble in every possible place they went; she really could not help it. Gene had once told her it was most likely due to her overwhelmingly strong spiritual abilities. Mai scoffed as she walked on toward the fence. She had no idea what Gene was talking about, she barely had any abilities to speak of and most of the time Naru dismissed them as nothing.

Sighing heavily, Mai stopped in her tracks when the silhouette became more clear and she was able to recognize Alice. Not much had changed since the day before, except her hair was down and blowing in the cool winter morning air and her shirt was a pink paisley under her winter coat. Mai smiled at the thought they had both decided to wear pink and spoke softly even though she knew Alice probably already knew she was there, "Hello Alice...I see you have good taste in clothing. I wore pink today too," Mai smiled revealing a bit of her sleeve as Alice turned to look at her, "Mind if I join you up there?"

Alice eyed her for a few moments more, then shrugged, showing she did not care one way or another.

"Thanks," Mai silently and carefully climbed up beside her on the fence post and sighed, "It is so beautiful here...I never imagined I would ever see anything like this place. I have lived in the city my entire life and never seen a sunrise as beautiful as this one."

Alice turned to look at Mai and smirked for a moment, before once more gazing over the horizon to watch the sun coming up, "Chrysanthemums..."

Mai turned abruptly and looked at Alice not sure she had heard her quiet companion utter the word. It had been so quiet and airy she was not positive if she had imagined it or not. Slowly Mai turned back to the rising sun, "Yes...it does remind you of chrysanthemums I suppose. A chrysanthemum sunrise..." Mai paused for a few moments taking in the nature and serene feeling around her. It was a few more moments before she realized Alice had jumped down from the fence and was staring at her. Carefully, Mai turned and climbed down to the ground and stared back. Alice smirked and tipped her head in a silent gesture for Mai to follow her.

Gulping from a sudden sense of wariness, Mai nodded and silently followed the lithe girl. Mai decided she was out of shape, because she was having a difficult time keeping the same pace Alice did as they trekked through the thick snow. Finally, Mai's saving grace came, as she halted and watched Alice open the doors to a large barn. Mai guessed they had walked a good three quarters of a mile to get to the barn and she graciously entered the warm confines of the space. Alice shut the large doors behind them and smiled for only a moment before turning and grabbing a bucket of grain. Alice held another out to Mai and after a few moments Mai took it from her.

Alice rolled her eyes, turning and heading for the first stall. Once there, Alice took a handful of the grain and held it out with a flat hand. Mai gasped as a horse's head suddenly shot out and consumed the grain Alice had been holding only a second before and Alice emitted a slight chuckle at Mai's reaction.

"Well..." Mai said a little hurt, "...what do you expect you silly girl? I have never done this sort of thing before!"

This only made Alice laugh more and she smiled shaking her head slightly. Coolly she gestured to the other side of the barn and Mai read her silent thoughts with a bit of apprehension. Shakily, Mai made her way to the opposite side of stalls. Timidly she set her bucket down and un-gloved her hand. Reaching down she collected some grain out of the bucket and remembering how Alice had done, she laid her hand out flat and within moments a horse appeared licking up the grain from her hand, causing Mai to squeak with surprise. This of course caused the horse to back up quickly and Alice was at Mai's side in a moment with a finger to her mouth. Mai frowned slightly before speaking softly, "Sorry...I will try to contain myself next time."

Alice nodded and after about ten minutes all the horses had been given their early morning treat. Mai sighed and smiled as she watched Alice gently pet the muzzle of one of the large creatures. Mai liked being able to spend time with the animals and Alice, but Mai also decided she could not imagine herself doing it everyday. She was definitely a city girl through and through. Mai could not help wondering why the girl before her was so silent. She knew there had to be a reason - working with Naru she had learned there was always a reason behind everything - why Alice chose silence. Shaking the thought away, Mai turned to face the horse, who's muzzle had been nuzzling her head for several minutes for attention. With a smile she turned and began to pet it's muzzle gently, following Alice's lead.

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The base had quickly become ground zero for organized chaos, as Ayako was gently easing Masako out of her soaked kimono styled coat. Takigawa had gone to the kitchen with John and Mr. Walker to throw some towels into the dryer. Masako was chilled to the bone and still unconscious.

Naru eyed Masako with hidden concern and once she was settled comfortably on one of the sofas under, warm towels and blankets, he turned to look at Ayako, "Miss Matsuzaki I need you to tell me everything that happened."

Ayako nodded, as she finally slipped out of her coat and took a seat near the warm lit fire place, "Masako and I decided it would be best to branch off from the guys and head toward the north side of the ranch. Everything was going as planned until Masako stopped out of nowhere and started staring into a hedgerow of trees. She told me to stop as well and not move another inch toward them," Ayako paused crossing her arms, "She even raised her arm to prevent my movement, which was a little strange. Very un-Masako...anyway she asked me if I sensed anything," Ayako stopped and looked down toward her feet.

"Did you?" Naru's voice was stern and quick.

"No I didn't and that is when she told me I should call Monk and John. I was getting ready to pull out my phone and do just that when I noticed she had gone suddenly pale. The next thing I know she says 'He's here' and passes out face first in the snow. That is when I called Takigawa and we high tailed it back to the base..." Ayako paused and looked over at Masako, who's skin was quickly regaining it's color, "...I still don't know what it is she was talking about. I didn't see anyone in the trees."

"I see..." Naru turned to face Mr. Walker, "...could you take Sephora into the kitchen for a bit. I need to discuss some things with my team and if I recall there were still some cinnamon rolls on the counter when we came back inside."

Easton took the hint and nodded, "Sure..." gently he took Sephora's shoulders and guided her toward the kitchen, "...we will be in here should you need us."

After Naru heard the footsteps recede he turned back toward the team before him, "Okay...what do you all think?"

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Mai was still unsure about her current situation. Somehow she had managed to let Alice silently talk her into riding one of the horses to the outer area of the property. Mai had watched Alice with amazed silence as the younger girl saddled two large mares and bridled them. It had taken Mai several minutes to realize one of the horses was meant for her to ride. Alice had popped Mai up onto the horse so quickly she could barely remember it happening. Alice had rolled her eyes at Mai's stick straight form upon sitting on top of the large horse. Mai shrugged at the memory of how stupid she must have looked to Alice. Mai could remember letting out a strong sigh of relief when she watched the younger woman hook the bridle to her own horse.

Mai felt the bitter air kiss her rosy cheeks as the ride continued. She had not seen this area of the ranch the day before and Mai guessed they were on the opposite end of the cemetery grounds. Mai shook silently, recalling the events which had transpired there mere hours before. The dreams had been very frightening and difficult to get through. Mai was stirred from her silent musings when suddenly her horse halted and she was pushed forward slightly into the saddle. Mai glanced down at the horse whose name had been a complicated English word. She remembered something on the stall in the way of Snick-dood-led or something and glared, "Geez Snicks...could have stopped a little nicer couldn't you?"

Alice ignored Mai and jumped down from her own horse to tie the bridles to a post in the snow. Alice then stepped over to Mai and helped her down, "Thanks!" Mai's reply was cheery and she smiled brightly toward Alice, who again ignored Mai and her smile and started walking. Mai turned, a little put out and began to follow silently. She was slowly becoming tired by Alice's sudden mood changes. It was exhausting to not know whether the girl would be happy or pissed with each passing moment. Mai crossed her arms over her chest and yawned. It was the first time she had felt tired since she had woken up and she sighed drowsily as she continued to walk through the snow. Finally, Mai was not sure whether it was boredom or curiosity, but one of them got the better of her and she whined, "Alice...why are we out here? It is cold and creepy...why did you bring me all the way out to the middle of nowhere for goodness sake?"

Mai looked around sourly and was taken aback when she nearly ran straight into Alice who had turned to face her with an annoyed glare, "Sorry..." Mai took a couple of steps back and looked at her as she pointed to a tree. For a few minutes Mai looked at Alice like she was crazy, "So...you had me ride several miles and trek through the cold snow to show me a tree...wait...this...oh my!"

Mai sprinted toward the tree after realizing it was the same tree she had seen in the photos from the hanging incident. She had only been able to catch glimpses of them when Mr. Walker showed them to Naru, but she remembered. When Mai made it to the tree she took a moment to collect herself, laying her hands on her knees, panting. Mai sighed heavily looking up at the huge tree. She could make out the branch the worker must have been hung from and she felt a chill crawl up her spine as she looked at the surrounding area. Mai turned back to look at Alice who was keeping her distance from the tree.

Mai was suddenly struck with a feeling of regret, having doubted the younger woman, "This is what you wanted to show me, isn't Alice. It would have taken a lot of time to get someone out here and kill them," Mai turned away from her again, "But I am not sure I understand why you wanted to show me all of this. What were you wanting me to...AHHHHH!"

Before Mai could finish she felt herself being suddenly swept up and off of her feet by an unseen force and the only thing she could do was scream. After a few moments she realized something was holding her upside from the tree. looking up toward the sky she saw her foot in the confines of a tied rope. Mai widened her eyes in shock and disbelief. Naru would be livid. Mai attempted to shift her weight to look at Alice who was almost to her side, "This is what you wanted to show me...isn't it?"

Mai question was filled with embarrassment and defeat and she smirked when Alice sent her a silent nod, "Damn my curiosity," Mai sighed and shivered for a moment, "Listen to me Alice...you are going to have to go back to the main ranch house and get my boss. I don't want you to get hurt trying to get me down," Mai paused as she watched Alice look at her like she was crazy, "No buts! Just hurry back...it isn't like I will be going anywhere. You can leave Snickee or Snicks...or whatever her name is here with me. We will be fine," Mai smiled reassuringly at Alice who was wary about the situation, although Mai noticed the girl must have thought through the current dilemma and realized there really was no other option.

With a grimace Alice strategically walked up to Mai and took out a pocket knife, careful of where she stepped. Sighing she cut the leather necklace from Mai's neck. She was not one to talk to strange people and she figured Mr. Shibuya would react if he saw Mai's necklace in her hands.

Mai smiled, knowing what Alice was doing and smiled lightly as she watched the girl unhook her horse and gallop off toward the ranch house. After Alice was out of sight Mai lost it, "STUPID, STUPID, STUPID! How could you be so incredibly STUPID!" After ranting for a few moments Mai closed her eyes in frustration and an attempt to stop the blood from rushing to her head. She was starting to get cold because her unfortunate position had caused her sweater and coat to ride up to her chest and reveal her bare belly to the cold air.

Mai could not believe she had allowed the current events to transpire and she decided maybe she truly did need to start being more careful. Frustrated Mai noticed the horse looking at her from his post, "What are you looking at?" The horse looked at her for a few more moments and then uninterested turned away. Mai sighed heavily again and closed her eyes. It was going to be a very long day.

""""""""""""""""""""""""

Naru crossed his arms grumpily. The conversation he had opened was swiftly going nowhere fast and he was quickly becoming annoyed with the current state of the situation. He angrily brought a hand to his temple and rubbed it gently, trying to release some of the tension which was building there. He had explained his conversation with Sephora to the group. Relaying the fact the young girl was having visions of future events and had indeed seen Miss Hara in one of them, "Okay...so nobody seems to have a valid explanation?" The question had come out much more angrily than Naru had intended, but the effect was the one he had aimed for. Silence issued forth into the small space and he nodded, turning toward Lin who handed him a stack of files and information on the ranch, "Well then I suggest you all start looking for some explanations. We need to discover the origin of Sephora's visions and the entity which has overpowered Miss Hara," he half tossed, half laid the huge piles onto the coffee table in front of everyone, "Get to it."

A unanimous sigh filled the silence of the room and Naru smirked at the finally found silence. His head had been killing him since their arrival on the property and the added tension of the room had been enough to drive him mad. Silence, was indeed golden and as Naru began to relish in it he opened his laptop to start some research of his own.

""""""""""""""""""""""

Mai was beginning to lose the feeling in her toes and her fingers were also becoming numb. She had attempted, for the first ten minutes of being upside down, to try and keep her torso and belly covered but it had been proven a vain attempt at best. She was cold, frustrated and on the verge of angry tears when she was abruptly pulled into a sudden state of awareness. From behind her, inside the grove of trees, Mai was certain she had heard something move.

Mai shifted slightly, attempting to turn toward the grove of trees, however, she stopped again instantly as she heard the leaves rustle. This time, Mai was certain she had heard something and she silently started to panic. She could feel her heartbeat picking up speed and she squirmed a little against the rope which held her up.

Before Mai knew what had happened she turned her head, straining her neck as she heard her horse companion let out a agonized sound. Mai knew what horses sounded like and the sound which had emanated from creature was most decidedly not normal. Mai felt as though she would become a pretzel if she twisted her body anymore but she craned her neck around gasping at what her eyes were met with. In front her, Mai watched, as the horse was slowly pushed down by an unseen force. It almost appeared as though it was being crushed and Mai could hear the animal screaming in agony.

Mai felt a wave of nausea hit her stomach as she heard what sounding like bones snapping and she could not help the cry which shot out of her mouth, "STOP IT! PLEASE STOP!" After a few moments the horse became still and Mai knew in her heart the creature had passed on. She felt tears falling from her hair as they made their way up to her forehead and then down toward the ground. Mai suddenly felt much colder then before and sensed something next to her.

She warily shifted her eyes to the right and what she saw terrified her.

""""""""""""""""""""""

Naru had been typing in silence and reading for the past twenty minutes and he honestly felt like he was in heaven. He had been able to glean some information from an old tourist website which had been put together back when the ranch had been in its hay day. It seemed the property had been racked with a bad epidemic of Tuberculosis and as Naru read through the list of symptoms his thoughts kept returning to Mai and her reaction at the cemetery.

Naru released air from between his teeth in added frustration. They would have to deal with the hauntings on a singular basis; it was obvious to him now the ranch had separate instances of paranormal activity. However, Naru could not shake the feeling of unease he had. Something had to be in play at the property, something was amiss.

Naru looked up as he heard Takigawa shift into a standing position, "Naru...I think I found something which might interest you. Here is a record of..." the Monk was cut off before he could finish, however, by the abrupt opening of the front door.

The team looked up simultaneously to be met with Alice. Her hair wild and her face red; she seemed terrified and worried at the same time and she searched the room for a few moments before setting her gaze on Naru. Silently she stalked forward and stood in front of him.

Naru could not help feeling slightly unnerved from the proximity he now shared with the girl. She had written a new definition on the topic of 'invading personal space', "Can I help you Alice?"

Alice stared up at him with wild eyes and Naru could tell she was trying to decide whether or not she would speak to him. Her eyes shifted up as she watched Easton enter the room with Sephora, "Alice...I have told you a million times to shut the door when you come in," Alice turned away from Easton's frivolous attempt to scold her and once again looked at Naru. Deciding quickly Alice grabbed Naru wrist and forced it toward herself.

Naru's first instinct had been to try and retract his arm from the strange girl, however, he soon released the tension and allowed her to open his hand. Naru's eyes went wide at what she left there, "Where did you get this?" Naru looked up at her with a stern hint in his eyes and he pulled his arm out of her grasp roughly. In his hand was one of Mai's necklaces and from the looks of it, it had been cut from around her neck. Easton stepped forward in concern, trying to see what Naru was holding onto.

Alice eyed them both silently and shared a silent understanding with Naru who turned abruptly to face Lin, "Lin with me..." Naru slammed his laptop a little too roughly, "...the rest of you...find out what happened and don't leave the base. Also find Miss Arai and make sure she and Sephora do not leave your sight. I don't know what is going on here, but whatever it is, it is messing with us."

"But Naru..." Monk's voice was defeated before he started.

"Just do it..." Naru turned to Easton, "Mr. Walker I believe we may require your assistance."

"Of course," Easton smiled with concern, "Anything to be of help."

Alice was growing tired of the idle chatter and suddenly she grasped Naru's hand again tugging on it with silent urgency. Naru nodded in return allowed Alice to pull him out of the room. Once outside she jumped on the horse and raced toward the barn she and Mai had passed time in earlier that morning, "We will follow you over there on foot Alice," Easton's voice rang out over the cold winter wind as he, Lin, and Naru jogged behind her.

After reaching the barn the three men saw Alice saddling a horse. Easton silently followed her lead and bridled the same one, "Sorry gentleman, but there is no time for riding lessons. Do either of you have any riding experience?"

Lin sighed, "I do...but only classical."

"Works all the same," Easton smiled and sent Alice to fetch another horse, "Mr. Shibuya, you can double saddle with Alice. It will put less strain on the horses that way."

Naru smirked silently at the thought of even having to endure riding a horse. He had a decent amount of motion sickness and hated not being in control of his body. However, his concern for Mai won over his want for self preservation and he stoically waited for the horses to be ready. Naru had to hold back a grin as he watched his tall Chinese companion mount the large creature. He never knew Lin knew how to ride and found it interesting there was something he had yet to learn about his friend.

Alice was at his side in an instant and she sent a hand down to him which he grasped and with the help of her arm and quick boost from Easton, Naru managed to get seated behind her. Naru had to strain his ears when he heard her utter a short and airy, "Hold on," and before Naru quite new what was happening the horse had taken off, followed by Mr. Easton and Lin. Naru felt his arms suddenly clasp Alice in sheer panic and surprise and he felt her tense ever so slightly at his hold. Naru decided at that moment it was definitely going to be a long day.

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Mai had started to scream when she had realized there was something, or rather, someone beside her. Her scream had been silenced, however, by a swift hand to her mouth. Mai's eyes were spinning wildly in an attempt to take in her surroundings. She was terrified at the prospect of the situation she found herself in and she was unsure of what to do. The hand on her face was very cold to the touch and when Mai was finally able to focus her stuttering eyes on the person next to her she wanted to scream again.

The man clasping her mouth shut was ghostly pale and had half of his skull and brain missing. He was surrounded by a faint blue glow and Mai knew instantly he was no longer alive. Suddenly, Mai realized she was looking at the man from her dream. At first she had not recognized him, but the wound was the same. She shivered as she remembered the gunshot and the blood. Mai tried to calm her shaking nerves and noticed the man seemed frantic, "You should be dead!"

Mai widened her eyes again as she realized the spirit must not realize his current state and she shifted uncomfortably when she felt him reach out and caress her bare stomach. Mai shuddered at his touch and her cheeks turned pink at the uncomfortable way her caressed her skin. She felt violated and she shut her eyes in an attempt to ignore the man and his touches. Mai soon found her eyes wide again with his next statement, "I suppose I will have to try again." 

Before she could protest Mai suddenly felt several sharp whip like stings across her bare belly and realized they must be sickles from the spirit's energy. She had become familiar with the power on several of the team's former cases. Mai shook when she remembered one in particular where Naru had almost lost his life. Mai choked suddenly and she focused her eyes once more to see the spirit had managed to wrap its cold hands around her throat, "St-op...stop it...ple-ase..."

Mai attempted to make the entity stop and as she spoke she could feel blood dripping from several wounds on her chest and torso. The blood was rolling down her belly and she could taste it on her lips. Tears were forming in her eyes and silently she could only think of one thing, Naru. Mai could feel her world going black as she fought to keep her eyes open, "Na—ru..._help me..._"

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay everybody! Thank you for the reviews so far on this fiction! I am glad so many of you are reading and reviewing! It really does make me happy to know you all enjoy the story! Sorry about the cliffhanger here, but it had to be done. I cannot go too long without leaving you all with a good cliffy. LOL ^_^**

**Please continue to review! I love hearing from all of you! Also let me know what you would like to see in the story and I will try and make it happen the best that I can. There will be a lot more focus on Lin in the next chapter so stay tuned and check back!**

**Love you all!**


	9. Gentle Hands

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Ghost Hunt or the original Ghost Hunt characters. All original characters I do,however,own and would appreciate being asked before anyone uses them. Don't sue me I have no money! LOL ^_^**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Just a quick note to everyone about this chapter...I created the scenario you will read a little ways down. It is a quick little tidbit I came up with pertaining to Lin, Gene and Naru when they were all much younger. I have always been intrigued by the comments Lin has when speaking with Mai during the Urado case and I decided to delve into it a bit. Enjoy!**

**Chapter Nine -**

Naru was ready to burst on several different levels after only a few short minutes of riding horseback. He felt as though his body would wretch at any moment to empty the contents of tea and the large cinnamon roll he had eaten for breakfast, only a few short hours before. Motion sickness had always been a problem for him, ever since he was little and he silently found himself wishing for Gene to be there. He tried to let his mind clear and allow memories to come forth. Closing his eyes he remembered being very little, in the car, with Gene, Lin, Madoka, and his parents; resting his head on his brother's shoulder as Lin or Madoka rubbed his back gently, soothing away the car sickness which often racked his small form.

Shaking his head Naru cleared the thoughts from his conscious before he could let any emotion show. He had to be strong willed and ready to face whatever new danger had caught up with Mai. He was trying to decide whether or not he would allow Mai to stay on property any longer after this latest turn of events. Of course, he was getting ahead of the situation. He did not know what had befallen his young assistant yet, but Naru was sure it was something worth Alice's loss of control. He did not know very much about the young woman he was hanging onto for dear life, but he could read her reactions and facial statements easily. It would take something very drastic to cause her alarm.

Naru cleared his throat and shook his head a little letting it gently rest on Alice's shoulder. He knew it was not something he would normally allow himself to do, but he needed comfort, even if the comfort was one sided. He felt the girl tense the muscles in her back slightly, then ease them back up. He smiled to himself as he realized she must have caught onto him and noticed his discomfort, _"Great,"_ he thought sourly. He did not really like the idea of allowing someone, especially a client, to see him at his most vulnerable, but it could not be helped and even so he silently wished himself eight years old and in the backseat with Lin or Madoka's comforting palm drawing swift circles into his back.

Lin had been keeping a watchful eye over Naru since they had started galloping out to the northern edge of the property. He knew his young associate had trouble with this type of transport and he worried Naru would be forced to show a more human side. It was not that Lin did not think it was okay for his boss to act like a 'normal human being', it was that he knew how much it irked Naru to admit he was 'normal'. Lin almost chuckled at the thought of Naru as a young boy and how serious he had always been.

Lin recalled the first time he had met the Davis twins with a gentle and reminiscent gaze. He had been selected from more then twenty prospective students from around the world to intern with Dr. Martin Davis at the English Paranormal Research Facility in London, England. Lin could remember the excitement he felt at receiving the letter signed by the famous researcher himself. Lin had been but a mere sixteen years old at the time and university freshman, still a bit unsure of his future. He had been advanced for his age and skipped several grades to graduate early. He had been trained in the ancient arts of the Omyouji since he had been very young, but after losing his parents in a tragic accident in Hon Kong during his senior year of high school, he had found himself lacking in many areas; especially the area of social communication and he had put his training away.

At that time in his life, Lin only knew two things for sure, one being he was on his own and would have to create a living for himself using his own talent and intellect and two he absolutely, without a doubt, hated the Japanese. Lin sighed as he remembered his former self and scoffed at how stupid and naive he had once been before allowing his mind to remember a little more.

Lin had arrived in London and been greeted by Dr. Davis, his wife Luella and their two sons Eugene and Oliver. Lin remembered his first reaction to the twins had been one of sheer disgust and annoyance. He could tell they were adopted children, but could also see the Japanese features on the two boys. It was obvious they were not fully of Japanese decent, but Lin did not care. It was enough to make him hate them on sight. His parents had been employed by a wealthy Japanese family in Hon Kong and they had worked ridiculously long hours to provide for him. His parents had ingrained the bloody history of his people into his brain since before he could remember and before he knew it, he had started believing their biased words over his own heart.

He remembered how irked he had been to meet the fifteen year old co-intern, Madoka Mori, upon arriving at the Davis's offices in the heart of downtown London. She was everything he was not, spunky, warm, high spirited, loud, and Japanese. He had hated the aspect of working with her throughout his college experience and for the first year had avoided her like the plague. It was during the second year of his internship when Eugene, the older of the Davis twins had questioned him about his beliefs and quite literally shoved his foot up his mouth and helped him pull the stick out of his butt. Lin smiled warmly as he remembered the conversation he and Gene had shared.

_"So you don't talk much do you?" Lin lifted his head at the young boy sitting across from him in his intern office. Madoka had left for the afternoon and the Davis's had left the office for a late afternoon lunch date, leaving Lin in charge of Oliver and Eugene, a task which left the older boy writhing with silent chagrin._

_"I suppose not, no," Lin scoffed softly and Eugene could tell he was trying to ignore the subject._

_"Well I was just thinking, I am pretty sure that last sentence is collective of more words then you have said to Oliver and I since you came here almost a year ago. I would think a man of your intelligence and academic caliber would be more talkative, Oliver and I..." Eugene found himself cut off quickly by the older Chinese boys voice._

_"I don't wish to hear about the absent meanderings of two nine year old boys. I don't care about you two in the least," Lin did not look up to face the boy across from him, he simply kept his eyes down in his book he was reading._

_Eugene sat for a few moments in silent thought before speaking up again, "Well that really is too bad you know? My brother seems to have taken a liking to you and your abilities. We have never had someone with your talents to watch and learn from before," Eugene paused, knowing this comment would rouse the older boy before him, "Yes, did you not know, that we too are learning from you and Miss Mori? Oliver and I, __are, of course in high school."_

_Lin nearly choked on his own spit when he heard Eugene say those words. He could tell the boys were intelligent, but he had never imagined they were that smart. Lin was beside himself with the fact he had been interning for nearly a year and he did not even know such a minor detail about the boys, "Yes, well I don't have any want or need to be friendly with anyone who is Japanese."_

_Lin glared at the boy who started laughing out loud at his comment and watched as he gently lifted his sleeping brother's head off of his lap and laid it on the small duvet he had been sitting on. Lin watched as the younger boy shifted in his sleep, attempting to find the warmth his brother had pulled from him. Eugene's soft and still high pitched voice wafted through the air again and Lin found it held wisdom, well beyond his years, "Well that seems silly to me. Oliver and I are certainly of Japanese decent, if you were to follow our family lineage, but we were born in America. Dr. and Mrs. Davis adopted us when we were but mere babes, barely out of our mother's womb and we have been brought up in English society ever since. There is a sour history between the countries of Hon Kong and Japan, but I do not believe any of us are old enough to remember or have been a part of that dispute. We cannot do anything about the past, we can only try and make a better future. So you can hate me, but not because of who I am. It would not be fair."_

_Lin gaped at the young boy standing before him and soon found himself drawn to smile. It was at that moment, Lin decided he would forever be friends with the Davis twins. It was strange the wisdom a young child could hold. Perhaps he would need to apologize to them and Miss Mori. He had been terrible to them all for a long duration._

_"You should definitely think about giving Miss Mori another chance as well, she is, after all, quite taken with you," Eugene spoke quietly with a sly grin, having somehow managed to come within mere inches of Lin in a matter of seconds. Lin widened his eyes at the proximity and watched as the young boy backed away with a thoughtful expression, bringing a finger to the side of his mouth, as if in deep thought, "Perhaps, I have spoken out of turn? I suppose some things should be left in silence?" Lin could feel himself blushing and he closed his book as he watched Eugene awkwardly rub his head and exit the room. Lin found himself wondering how the boy knew what he had been thinking at that moment, but pushed it aside as coincidence. Little did he know just how un-coincidental the comment had been. _

_After taking a moment to himself, Lin let out a heavy sigh and started to reopen his book when a soft whimper caught his ears. Turning his head he saw Oliver, still sprawled on the duvet, squirming, as if he was in the throws of a terrible nightmare. For a moment, he contemplated leaving the boy alone, but after a silent internal battle he shoved the thought aside. If he was going to turn over a new leaf, then it was going to be right now. Lin gently set his book on the side table next to the chair he had been seated in and stood quietly side stepping over to the sleeping child. He, of course, had just had a crash course on the subject of the twins not being normal children, but it did not mean they weren't human. All the knowledge in the world could not make up the years of experience being an adult carried. He carefully lifted the boy, being sure to cradle his head and frowned slightly as Oliver tried to lash out at him. Lin easily caught his arm and silently pulled the boy up and off of the duvet and into his arms, letting Oliver's head rest against one of his broad shoulders. Lin had never been one to give comfort and being Chinese, he had no younger siblings to speak of, but he would be damned if he did not try._

_For a moment he stood awkwardly with the boy in his arms, looking around the room as if something there would show him a miraculous epiphany on what to do in such a situation. However, he soon found it lacking __of any help and frowned deeply questioning whether it had been a good idea or not to even interfere with the young child. He was pulled from his feelings of regret, however, when he felt the young boy wrap his skinny legs around his waist, his thin arms snaking around his broad neck and shoulders, and his small head burrowing into his neck. Lin turned his head slightly as he watched the boy slowly become comfortable and smiled slightly when he saw his little face become serene and no longer contorted. Sighing, Lin eased his way back into the comfortable arm chair, still cradling the little boys head with his large hand. He took his opposite hand and grabbed his book flipping it open but before he could return his eyes to it he was shocked to hear a soft, voice, identical to Eugene's usher forth unconsciously into his ear, "Hello Lin..."_

_Lin turned his head instantly retaking a huge amount of air thinking the child had tricked him into a compromised position, but soon realized the boy was still in the deepest thralls of sleep. Letting out the air he sucked in he shook his paranoid thoughts away and turned his eyes to his book, once more, cradling the young boy as he read. He did not notice the small identical face which had been peaking into the room and watching him the entire time. He did not see the big smile grace his youthful lips and he certainly had not heard the silent words the boys had passed telepathically to each other solidifying the friendship he did not realize he would soon cherish more then any amount of knowledge in the world._

Lin shook his head and returned his thoughts to the present situation, he wished there was some way for him to comfort Naru as he used to do when he had been little. He knew the boy was probably in the thralls of torture being bounced around for the past twenty minutes but he also realized there was nothing he could do to ease the situation. They had to find Mai and Lin knew Naru would sooner give his life away then see his young female assistant hurt or heaven forbid it killed. Suddenly Lin became highly aware of the air around him and he sat straight up in the saddle as his Shiki sensed impending spiritual energy, "Naru, we are close and whatever is out here is strong."

Naru sent Lin a sideways glance and nodded silently, tilting his head up and averting his eyes to a grove of trees ahead of them. As they got closer Naru sat up straight in the saddle and strained his eyes, gripping Alice tighter then before. He let his eyes go wide when he realized what he was looking at. Mai had somehow managed to get herself tied upside down, by her ankle, in a tree and it seemed she was struggling against something, "Faster...get me over there NOW!"

Alice nodded in silent understanding and kicked the horse which seemed to glide through the cold winter air. Within mere seconds they were within fifty feet of the young woman and without thinking Naru let go of Alice and jumped from the back of the horse, much to Lin's disbelief and miraculously managed to land on his feet. Shaking away the queasy feeling in his stomach, Naru started sprinting toward the girl in front of him and while running pulled a pocket knife out of his pants pocket. As Naru came closer to the situation he could see the distraught look on Mai's face and noticed her hands were attempting to claw at something around her neck which was not there. It was obvious whatever was out here with her was trying to choke her and Naru found himself seething with anger at the prospect of Mai having to endure something so sinister. He, himself, had had the unfortunate experience of having his air constricted on the Kazaki Mansion case and he knew if they did not rectify the situation, she would not last very long, "LIN!" Before Naru had completely uttered the one syllable name he heard Lin whistle, summoning his Shiki and he could hear Alice and Easton gasp in unison as the bright lights seemed to come in contact with whatever was there, but not there.

Naru watched Mai suddenly widen her formerly clenched eyes and gasp for air, coughing and still choking slightly. It was at that moment, he knew she would be alright and a feeling of calm re-surrounded his rattled nerves. Sighing he took in her plight fully and quickly averted his eyes when he realized, just how far her shirt had managed to ride up her exposed torso in her upside down position. He could feel the blush burning his cheeks and was thankful for the bitter winter air which had already managed to turn his usually pristine pale skin rosy with wind bites, "Mai," Naru paused collecting his thoughts and taking a deep breath to calm down his hormones, "Are you alright?"

Mai shifted uncomfortably, blinking her eyes several times before realizing what was in front of her was real. She had gone from being embarrassed, to cold, to terrified, to fighting for her life, and back to embarrassed in the short period of an hour and she sighed heavily, hoping Naru would not be too hard on her. She, had, after all found out something very important to the case, or at least one aspect of the case, "I...I think I am fine. It is cold though..." Mai seemed to suddenly remember that her shirt was up past an area of decency and she immediately began to grab and pull at it frantically. As she did this a noticeable blush started to form, not only on her face, but the exposed areas of her skin as well.

"It appears you are much warmer than you give yourself credit for," Naru wished he had kept those words in his mouth after he had said them, but it was too late to take them back and he smirked looking at her fully again.

"YOU SHOULDN'T BE LOOKING! YOU PERVERT!" Mai screamed back at him and huffed angrily, though she was silent when she felt him come around behind her and take hold of her shoulders, "Wh-what are you doing?" Mai found her voice to be a little shaky at Naru's close proximity. It was not that she had never dreamed of him being close to her, it had just been a much more realistic and romantic dream than being hung upside down in a tree. Before she quite knew, what had happened she felt the rope snap free, which had been suspending her in the air and she let out a cry of fear, as she felt herself surge forward. Naru, however, easily glided her body down and softly laid her on her back in the snow.

Mai's first instinct was to sit straight up, which she immediately regretted because she was met with the horrendous feeling of all the blood rushing into her brain and she groggily made her way back down into the snow. Closing her eyes, Mai sighed and shook her hand, saying the words she knew were about to spurt out of Naru's face, "I know, I know, don't sit up so fast dummy..."

Naru smirked crossing his arms and reaching down he silently pulled her shirt and coat back into a more modest place on her body. Mai felt herself blush again but chose to stay silent. She had never seen Naru do something so 'intimate' before and she decided it was not something she should bring attention to. After a few minutes of sulking and trying to regain her balance Mai slowly sat up again, this time with Naru supporting her back. She was about to speak when she saw Alice standing about thirty feet away, "Alice..." Mai's voice was filled with heartbreak and a hint of terror and Naru turned to look in the direction of the two women. His eyes widened at what he saw and for the first time since the case had begun, he had no words for the grotesque picture before his eyes.

"My God," Easton's voice broke through the silence as he walked over to where Alice had halted her horse. Silently he turned to look at Mai and was saddened to see the look of horror her eyes were starting to carry, "Miss Taniyama...what happened?"

Mai stared at him and gulped back the lump which had formed in the back of her throat. Choosing her words carefully she closed her eyes and steeled herself into a broken sense of composure. She knew it was not the time to act like a frightened little school girl. She needed to be brave and act like a professional. Sometimes she wished she had the nerves Naru somehow seemed to carry with him at all times. She could only remember one or two cases where Naru had been provoked toward any emotional extreme and neither of those times brought pleasant memories. Opening her eyes again, Mai looked at no one in particular as she started to speak softly, rasping slightly from the previous pressure on her throat, "Alice and I rode out here about an hour ago. First we fed the horses in the barn just south of here. I was not expecting to ride, but we did. I was not sure why we came all the way out here because I could tell it was almost the outside edge of the property," Mai paused for a moment and swallowed, attempting to coat her dry throat, "I recognized the tree here..." Mai looked up for a moment and eyed the tree she had been hanging from moments before and huffed out a bit of air, "...and of course, being the curious free spirited person that I am, I ran forward..."

"Without thinking about the consequences of such actions," Naru cut her off bluntly.

"WITHOUT WORRYING about something this CRAZY HAPPENING, actually," Mai sarcastically replied back to his tart words, "Anyway, before I knew what was happening I was upside down in the tree. Alice cut off my necklace before I sent her to find you. I knew it would be dangerous if she tried to cut me down herself, so I told her to go back. She left the horse behind and..." Mai paused as she watched the girl slowly climb down off of her horse and walk over to the now dead creature on the ground, falling to her knees and sobbing into the now still neck of the thoroughbred, "...Oh Alice, I am so sorry!" Mai could feel tears brimming her eyes and she felt a chill crawl up her spine as the anguish set in. It had been terrible, watching the horse get crushed. It had been something Mai thought she had been dreaming, but the harsh hand of reality was beginning to set in and Mai was quickly realizing everything had been much too real.

"Mai...focus..." Naru's voice was softer than normal and almost comforting to her ears,"...I need you to tell me everything you saw after Alice left."

Mai nodded gently in his direction, "I know..." she paused turning to look at him with teardrops threatening to spill out of her cinnamon colored orbs, "...but do you think we could go back first? It is cold out here...I..." she turned back toward Alice and watched as Easton eased the girl up and back over to her still breathing equine.

Naru had never been one to postpone vital information or allow Mai to make excuses in delaying a case, but he could tell whatever had transpired during Mai's solitary hour in the field, had caused her to become visibly shaken and distraught. Mai's eyes reminded him of a lost and terrified puppy left out in the rain, alone, and forgotten; while he berated himself for allowing her to have such a finite pull over his emotions, he felt himself sighing and nodding in her direction. He did not want her to be upset, he hated it when Mai was truly bereft, "Alright, let's head back," Naru stood up and offered Mai his hand, while Lin steadied her opposite shoulder. Once both men were satisfied she would be able to stand on her own they left her to walk by herself.

"Miss Taniyama," Easton was attempting to be strong, but Mai could tell he was deeply upset by the current circumstances, "You can ride with me," He easily helped Alice up and then once again boosted Naru into the saddle behind her, "Now you go easy Alice, Mr. Shibuya is not an _experienced_ rider," Easton eyed her carefully and shrugged as the girl wiped her tear stained cheeks with her sleeve. He then climbed into the saddle and sent his hand down to Mai who took it slowly. He all but hurled her up and into the saddle behind himself, "Hold on tight Miss Taniyama, the snow makes for a bit of a bumpy ride."

Mai felt herself blushing for the third time since the rescue party had found their way out to her and she silently grasped hold of the blonde man sharing a saddle with her. She could feel Naru's angry and jealous eyes on her back, but held no pity for him. If he was going to be jealous then Mai decided he should suck it up and ask her out so he could justify the jealousy. Smiling, as Easton kicked the horse and started forward, Mai could not help but mask her dread filled visions from before with a little bit of embarrassed laughter. It felt good to have the upper hand when it came to Naru and maybe Yasu was right. Maybe her stubborn, egotistical, narcissistic and resent filled boss just needed a little time to stew. Of course adding a little salt, by way of Mr. Walker, to the water might just make the stew boil a little faster.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay everyone chapter nine is here! I really enjoyed writing this chapter and hopefully you all enjoyed reading it! I am hoping to have the next chapter up tonight, however, it might be tomorrow evening before I can get it out. **

**Please read and review...let me know what you think so far. Also I would like a little insight on how you all like the plot of the story up to this point. Let me know and thank you for the minor corrections and spellings you have all pointed out! I have not been able to fix all of them just yet, but I am working on it! You are all awesome!**

**Thanks so much!**

**Love ya!**

**The Crazy Cheezer**


	10. Hanging Leads

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt or any of the characters related to the fandom. Thanks!**

**Author's Note:** Hello Everyone! Hopefully you have not forgotten about this story or this author! I am so sorry about the unexpected delay in getting the rest of this story out. I have not forgotten about it or any of you, but due to some pretty severe health problems I was delayed in many things, including this story. I was undergoing some very rigorous treatment and was too sick to think about reading or writing anything for the past few months. Some of you know I am a musician and I also had to give up on that part of my life for a while. I am slowly getting caught up in all things, from fanfiction to real life. Hopefully you can forgive my absence and if not I will continue writing and posting stories anyway. I love writing for this fandom and though the updates will be a little slower, I will be here.

I am also slowly getting caught up in the reading department! Thank you to all of my faithful readers! I appreciate all of you! I assure you I will continue to write for you! Without further ado…

**Chrysanthemum Sunrise**

**Chapter Ten**

Naru entered the ranch house with chagrin and a bit of frustrated anger. They had spent fewer then twenty four hours at the ranch location and there had already been three attacks made toward his employees. Naru had been unable to deduce why the spirit took to attacking young women, but he pushed the thought to the back of his mind, Mai was more important at the moment. He let his eyes shift to the young woman now seated on the sitting room sofa near the fire, he watched carefully with protective eyes, as the Priestess tended to her swollen and bruised neck. Silently he brought an unconscious hand to his own neck, remembering the pain it had caused him on the Kazaki Mansion case. He felt eyes on him and turned his head abruptly in the direction of Yasu who was eyeing him knowingly; Naru smirked in his direction and silently turned his attention to Lin.

"Lin," his voice was calm and collected, "I need data."

Lin nodded mutely and immediately began reviewing any and all information which had been collected.

Naru turned toward the Priestess, "Miss Matzusaki…I am sure Mai will be fine," he secretly hated dismissing Mai so easily, but he had to be focused on the case and his cold exterior was the only method he knew for keeping his focus in check, "What is Miss Hara's condition?" Naru ignored the hurt look Mai sent in his direction at his seemingly cold words. Ayako looked at him sourly but understood his frustration and line of questioning. She was just as troubled by all of the morning's events.

"She seems to be unconscious. From what I can gather she went into a state of shock. I cannot sense a spirit; John and Monk could not sense anything out of the ordinary either. However, I can tell you everything I have tried to do to revive her has had the same result. I cannot restore her at this time," Ayako sent a worried glance toward Masako's direction. She was lying on the sofa across from Mai still as death and very pale.

"Please keep me informed on her condition," Naru paused for a moment, glancing toward Mai's direction for a split second, "It is of the utmost importance we revive her as soon as possible."

Ayako nodded diligently, holding an arm out to stop the advancing Takigawa. Everyone in the room, save Lin and Masako, were thrown by Naru's seemingly uninterested attitude toward Mai. However, Ayako was smart enough to know an argument would literally solve nothing when it came to their prideful young boss. She could pick up on his small minute gestures toward the young woman. The room remained silent for several moments as Naru located his black folder and began flipping through it.

Yasuhara broke the silence, "So Big Boss, what is the plan of action?"

Naru sighed and turned toward Yasuhara, "I need you to continue your research. I believe the haunting on this ranch is being created by several different spirits. I need you to find out everything you can about Fujioka's family – the good, the bad and the ugly. We need to know all of the details. I want you to delve into his wife especially closely," Naru acknowledged Yasuhara's curt nod and did not bother to watch his exit, "As for the rest of you, get some rest. Until we know more about the entities and their intentions it is too dangerous to be roaming about on this property. Miss Matsuzaki?"

"Yes?"

"Please take Miss Hara upstairs. It seems no unexplained phenomena have yet to occur in that part of the house. I feel it would be better for her to remain there," Naru voice hit the air like frost.

Ayako stopped for a moment looking at Mai, whose head was down, hanging in dejection, "Yes, of course Naru, so kind of you to think of _her_ well being" Ayako motioned for Takigawa to lift the unconscious medium and quietly, the team, minus Mai, made their way up to stairs toward their designated rooms.

Mai, who had been silent up to this point, turned her head to watch them ascend the staircase. She was honestly not sure what to think. She had assumed Naru would be worried about her as well, but he had made no moves to ask about her condition and he had not asked Ayako to take her up to the safety of the upstairs rooms. Mai could feel hot angry tears brim her eyes and swiftly she stood up and turned toward the fire. She was unsure of whether she was angry or sad. She did not know how to respond, she was contemplating screaming and sobbing at the same time. The frustration made her all the more conflicted and finally she chose to be rational in her actions, taking a big deep breath she turned toward the door, which led to the outside of the house and Alice's quarters.

Mai reached the door and began to lay a hand on the knob to turn it, but before her fragile fingers could even come close to spinning it around, Naru's monotone voice hit her ears.

"Try to stay out of trouble this time."

Mai felt her eyes widen at the absolute bluntness of his statement. There was no kindness, no emotion, just raw, sharp double edged words. Mai felt her severely bruised throat begin to burn and finally after much effort to keep them at bay hot tears finally rolled down her cheeks, however, she made no move to show him her face. Mai simply nodded, opening the door as quickly and quietly as possible. It felt like a number of years passed by her before she shut the door and felt the cool afternoon air kiss her cheeks.

Before she quite knew what had happened she began to run. She was not sure where she was going or why, but she knew she needed to let her emotions out and if that meant putting herself in danger again she did not care. She wanted to get away from everything, especially her bull headed and egotistical boss. She really did not know why the one person who infuriated her more than anything else in the world was also the person she could not picture herself being without and it made her very agitated and angry.

Finally, after running for a bit, Mai happened upon a barn, which was more like a shed. Quietly, she slid open the door and slid herself inside. She was truly exhausted, from both her ordeal at the edge of the property and her anger toward Naru. In truth she had not run very far, her endurance was lacking. She spent most of her time cooped up in the SPR office nowadays and suddenly Mai began to wonder how Lin and Naru managed to stay so fit, _"No Mai!" _Mai thought to her angrily, _"Do not waste your time wondering about the guy who just pissed you off…not worth the aggravation."_

Silently Mai began to look around and found tools, equipment and seed piled in various areas around the shed. There were also saddles on saw horses scattered around the room and there was a pile of hay in one corner. Mai decided it was the perfect spot to plop herself down in and relax. The hay was scratchy at first, but soon Mai fell into the darkness of her dream world.

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Naru watched Mai open and close the door with shocked awe. He had fully expected the girl to turn on her heels and give him a piece of her mind, or berate him angrily. Never would he guess she would nod quietly and leave the room without a word. His mind had not calculated that sort of reaction into his equation and he felt his right eye twitch at the thought.

"You are surprised?" Lin's voice cut through the thick feeling in the air and Naru turned abruptly to face him, frustration evident in his eyes. Naru started to ignore the words but could not avoid them when Lin's voice shook the room again, "The slight flush on your neck gives you away."

"I did not ask for a commentary on my appearance Lin," Naru turned away and tried to look interested in his black notebook. Honestly, he had nothing to be interested about. They were getting nowhere fast with the confounded case. He had been more frustrated with himself than with Mai, and he did not need Lin to tell him how much of a pompous ass he had been toward the young woman. Her reaction to the most previous situation was enough of a sign.

Naru glanced over his shoulder at Lin, who rolled his eyes briefly, "Considering everyone involved in this case so far is safe within the walls of this house except her, what do you think you should do? Honestly, Naru, for being a supposed genius and child prodigy, you have a definite lack of common sense sometimes."

Naru felt his eyes get wide at Lin's words and angrily he tossed his notebook to the floor. He was angry at himself and his obvious lack of decorum when it came to women. He had never understood them and in the department of the fairer sex, Mai, was perhaps the biggest of the enigmas to ponder. He had tried to come up with a million different reasons to dislike her and keep his distance, but he could not help the ever present want to be near her or the overwhelming need to protect her.

"You cannot push her away forever…" Lin sighed heavily, resting his hands on the keyboard for a moment before continuing his keystrokes, "…she eventually will not come back to us, one way or another."

Lin's words hit Naru like a knife and stung like hot coals. He had, of course, wanted this to happen in the beginning. He was afraid of one thing more than any other, he was afraid of being left completely and utterly alone and he had learned most men were this way. He had blamed Gene for a long time for leaving him by himself. He had blamed him for coming to Japan and getting himself killed and not thinking more about their family; for not thinking more about him. It had taken him a long time to sort out his feelings toward his brother's death and he knew Mai was part of what sped up the process. It was hard to be cold and calculated when the warmth of her smile was enough to light up the entire room. Naru shook his head and suddenly felt very exposed and naked. He had not been so honest with himself in a long time and it was difficult to allow his emotions to sway, "I don't ever want her to stop smiling…" it was more of an unconscious utterance than true words, but Lin heard them loud and clear, "…I don't ever want her to experience the pain I had to."

"She already has…" Lin watched his young boss bristle for a moment before reaching down to pick up the black folder he had earlier thrown upon the ground in a tantrum and sighed heavily. He scanned the computers quickly with his eyes and suddenly did a double take, "Naru…" Naru turned instantly sensing there was an abnormality, "…the temperature at the cemetery is dropping steadily. It seems we are in for some activity."

"Finally, what is the temperature in the inner area of the grounds as opposed to outside the gates?"

"There is about a 15 degree fluctuation between the two…" Lin paused and added audio, "…too much to be coincidence."

Naru was about to speak again when suddenly Yasuhara burst forth into the room in a fluster of books and journals, Rika following diligently behind, "I found out something _very_ interesting! It seems the late Fujitaka was a bit of a ladies' man and had several different mistresses over the years. This transferred to his two sons; however, what you will really find intriguing is the records I found of a third son!" Yasuhara smiled triumphantly as he looked at Naru who was obviously a little taken aback.

"What do you mean a third son?"

"I am so glad you asked Big Boss!" Yasuhara smiled and continued, opening one of several journals, "I was able to locate this," he passed the journal to Naru who began to flip through it nonchalantly, "It is the personal journal of one Kurosai Nagami. She was Fujitaka's most favored mistress and the mother of his third child. This was of course kept in absolute secrecy and never revealed to anyone. Ido Nagami was the son's name and he grew up on the property as a ranch hand, not realizing his own lineage until a few days before his apparent suicide. However, many of the records indicated the young man was actually murdered by his mother in order to keep him quiet. The means to how he discovered his true identity is sketchy and only parts of it come together even in this journal," Yasuhara turned toward Rika who was standing behind him still holding some of the old journals she had unearthed in the storage area of the attic, "Miss Arai? I wonder if you would be so kind to ask Mr. Walker to join us please?"

Rika nodded curtly, setting down the journals and heading out toward the corrals and stables as Yasuhara continued, "I also discovered Fujitaka's eldest son committed a murder suicide after his two young children were killed by a crippling case of Tuberculosis. He ended up shooting his younger wife in the belly, then turning the gun on himself and taking his own life before her eyes. Or so the reports stated, however, there is much speculation and many believe it was actually his young mistress who was killed that day. All three, the wife, eldest son and mistress were never found. Soon after the two bodies were discovered they disappeared."

Yasuhara turned as he heard feet shuffle through the back of the house and smiled upon seeing Mr. Walker and Rika return, "Ah, Mr. Walker. It is good to see you again, I was wondering if I might ask you a couple of questions about the attacks at the cemetery?" Yasuhara smiled at his nod and continued, "Yes, well, I wanted to know what state the women who were afflicted were in? Were any of them pregnant or perhaps mother's of children?"

"No all single young women," Easton shook his head slightly.

"Was there anything about them which would have singled them out? Sorry to bother you with seemingly silly questions, but it is of absolute importance to the case…can you think of one thing they all had in common?" Yasuhara pressed him.

"Hmmm…" Easton began but was cut off by Rika whose voice pierced through the air.

"They were all orphans! Oh Easton…that has to be it!"

Easton turned and laid a calming hand upon her forearm and turned back toward Yasu, "Yes that would probably be the one thing they all had in common. We try to give young people a good steady job and income as well as teach them what it means to really work. Rika set up a program with one of the local orphanages in town; we have a sort of internship program here on the ranch now."

"Then that explains why Mai was affected at the cemetery…" Naru started but Lin cut him off.

"Yes, but it does not explain why you weren't…" Lin said heavily.

"Yes it does…" Naru started again; obviously angry he had been cut off so abruptly, "…I had a family. Parents who took Gene and myself in and gave us a home; a place to stay; a place to feel secure and loved. Mai did not have that. Her parents were just suddenly gone one day, vanished, just like…" Naru stopped and turned away from them, "…excuse me. I have to check on something. I will be back shortly."

Lin watched him put on his coat and exit the ranch home and decided to leave well enough alone, turning his attention back to Yasuhara, "So what you believe is Fujitaka's illegitimate son is somehow causing the orphaned employees and Mai to become ill?" Lin waited for affirmation, " Makes sense, he wants to press how he felt onto them, suffocated, cold, alone."

"I believe he is the main entity here…the others are perhaps tied to his spirit…" Yasuhara sighed removing his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly.

"I will alert the others," Lin turned to Easton, "Please bring both of your girls into this home and keep them here. I would also let all of your workers know of the situation. I believe an exorcism will be necessary in this case. This is of course only one of possibly several entities haunting this ranch. Do you understand the ramifications which may come with that?"

Easton nodded swiftly and with Rika at his side he hurried out to fill Lin's request as Lin shouted for the team to join them at the base.

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Naru was so angry he could barely see straight, in fact, frustrated tears were brimming his eyes. One thing he did not do, ever, was cry; not since Gene had been lost, but at the moment he was doing a lot of things he would never do. Willing himself, he managed to push the tears back and take a deep breath calming his nerves slightly. How could he have never realized Mai losing her parents was probably just as horrid a thing as when he, himself, had lost Gene? It was her only real tie to the world, the only real family she had left. She was so much stronger then he had been giving her credit for. He had to make things right.

Naru looked down at the snow and found the only footprints small enough to be Mai's and began to follow them. He could tell she had been running and felt like someone had punched him in the chest when he realized it was because of him. Slowly and carefully as not to miss a change in direction he followed the shallow prints to Mr. Walker's storage shed. Sighing and preparing himself for a heavy, sharp, or dangerous object to somehow make contact with his face, he opened the door to the shed and stepped in out of the cold. He shook the snow off of his coat and glanced around the dimly lit space.

A single oil lamp blazed in one corner and finally just beyond the lamp he caught site of Mai. She was resting gently in the hay, curled up, most likely to stay warm. Naru took several steps toward her, though as he came closer, his steps picked up in speed, until he found himself sprinting to the young woman. Upon closer inspection Naru realized she was much paler than she should be and her usually flushed cheeks were like ice to the touch, "Mai…MAI!" Naru rolled her over and lifted her into his lap. She was cold as death, but she was still breathing which made Naru let out a sharp sigh of relief. As carefully as he could Naru lifted Mai into his arms and began to walk toward the shed's exit which he had left open. Looking up Naru realized suddenly that the door he had indeed left ajar was in reality shut. Naru was immediately on guard and warily he looked around the room. It was cold. Too cold and Naru knew something was coming.

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_Mai looked around and was at first confused. She remembered falling asleep, but not waking up and it was difficult for her to get a hold on her surroundings. She glanced around the space and suddenly she caught sight of Gene. He was standing far off from her in the distance and she was unnerved by his posture and facial expression. He appeared frantic and it seemed like he was trying to get to her, but couldn't. It was then she realized she was still sleeping, but she felt different in some way, like she was asleep but awake at the same time. She felt as though she was floating and walking all at once. She had never felt so disoriented in one of her dream visions before and she found herself terrified at the experience._

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Naru gently set Mai back down in the hay and turned toward the door, "I know you are here. I remember leaving the door open, why don't you come out and let me see you? Of course being as you are illegitimate, I suppose you do not really belong here do you? Ido _Nagami?"_

Naru unconsciously shivered as the temperature in the room dropped drastically. Naru knew Lin would see the temperature change and silently hoped he would have enough sense to come investigate. Naru surveyed the shed carefully, trying to create a mental picture of every object in the space and where it was. He needed to be ready to use his power if the situation deemed necessary and he would need to know where objects were to deflect them. As he looked around the room he did a double take at the pile of hay and Mai's missing body. Naru took a step back with wide eyes realizing she was no longer lying in the spot where he left her.

"Where is she Ido?" Naru was angry and not hiding it. He frantically searched the room for Mai desperate to locate her now missing form. Naru tensed when he heard an eerie chuckle emanate through the room. It seemed to have no real origin as it rippled through the now sub-zero space. Naru was visibly shaking and could easily see each breath leave his freezing body. He found himself silently wishing he had had enough foresight to bring his gloves and scarf. Naru opened his mouth to say something more, but he was suddenly cut off abruptly when he felt something lasso tightly around his neck which pulled him to the ground with its force. He tried to turn around to see the source of the sudden pressure and was able to catch a hint of auburn hair mixed with cinnamon colored eyes and Naru felt his own ocean filled orbs go wide at the realization Mai was behind him, tightly tying off a lasso rope, which had somehow become mounted on a part of the vaulted ceiling of the shed.

"You bastard!" Naru dangerously spoke through the tightened rope around his neck, "Get out of her…brai-ack…" Naru was cut off as he felt his feet lift further and further from being planted flatly on the ground. He forced air into his swelling throat and willed his eyes to stay open. He watched as Mai, who had obviously been possessed, suddenly fell to the ground in a heap.

"Bad…move…you…should have stayed inside her…" Naru forced the words out of his burning throat. He pushed one clenched eye open as he suddenly felt a presence in front of him. What his eyes were met with was a rotting corpse. Half of the skin was intact, while other areas were either missing altogether, or decaying away. The face was disgusting, part skull and part rotting muscle, one eye hanging out of its socket.

Naru winced as it spoke, trying not to breathe in the disgusting smell which emanated from it's body, but needing the air all the same, "I think not…" Naru willed his eyes to open again, "…it was easy to overtake her…she did not fight it. She did not fight this…her anger was obvious and easy to manipulate. Her heart was full of darkness…you did not care about her…you caused this! It is your entire fault! You did not want her…YOU DID NOT WANT HER!" the corpse came dangerously close to Naru's face and gathering strength Naru spit in its decomposing face, only to be met with a slap of air with an especially sharp edge. Naru winced as he felt fresh warm blood roll down his face and grimaced when he felt the corpse like spirit caress his now injured flesh.

Naru was about to lash out with a furious burst of PK when he suddenly gasped as he felt the rope lift him higher. His intended projectile lost speed and clattered to the ground dangerously close to Mai's unconscious body, "You will die knowing the same suffering you have caused…I will end your own suffering…I will end what I started…" the corpse spoke again and before he could blink, Naru was met with Mai's face staring up at him. He looked down at her, seeing only bits of her thin body through growing spots of black, he saw her cinnamon eyes full of turmoil, he could tell she was fighting the spirit, her unclosing and glazed eyes haunted him, suddenly an evil smirk exchanged the turmoil and before he knew what had happened he felt a searing pain spur forth into his side. He wanted to scream, but was incapable, he willed his eyes to open and he was met with Mai's still glazed eyes and another sudden blow, this time to the opposite side of his body. By the impact, Naru guessed Mai was wielding some sort of rake or mulch tiller. He could feel the teeth of the opposing weapon dig into his skin and rake across his body agonizingly slowly. Another blow hit him, followed by another and another. It was the most painful experience Naru could ever remember, but what was even more painful then the violent attacks on his porcelain skin was watching the silent tears pouring forth from Mai's unclosing eyes.

It was at that moment Naru realized the spirit was forcing her to watch her own actions. Naru was livid and gathering all the strength he had left he managed to find enough strength to swing his feet into the oil lamp and watched as it burst to the floor immediately igniting the hay. It was not the best plan he had ever conjured up but before he could do anything more about it, he lost his battle with consciousness and was enveloped into the dark.

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_**Thank you for reading the latest chapter! If you made it this far than you must like it, so why not review? Let me know what you think? I take your comments seriously and give cookies to faithful reviewers! J/K Hopefully you enjoyed the story and thank you for sticking with me through the long wait! I cannot promise a very fast turn around on the next chapter, but I will be updating as soon as possible! Thanks so much! I also have a new one shot which I will finish soon…be on the lookout!**_


	11. The Horror of Reality

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt or any of the characters related to the fandom. Thanks!**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **I have decided to start breaking up sections by simply putting **GHOST HUNT **in all bold and capital letters. When I eventually go back through and edit chapters I will change this in all of them. I do _**warn**_ readers, this chapter will deal with darker subject matter. This is a very long chapter and I intended this story to take on a very dark side, so be warned. The subject matter is quite adult and there will be some adult situations, language, and violence from this point on in the story. I have checked the standards and guidelines for this site as well as the movie ratings guide and I have deemed the chapter fit to be rated T. Please be advised before reading, however and prepare yourself for a wild ride. Many things will be revealed and discovered in this chapter; however, the real mystery is only beginning. PLEASE ENJOY AND REMEMBER TO REVIEW!

**Chrysanthemum Sunrise**

**Chapter Eleven**

_Darkness surrounded Naru in an ebony cocoon of heavy black. He had favored black since Gene's death, but the shadows he currently found himself in were suffocating. After a few moments the darkness cleared and as he opened his eyes he found himself face to face with Mai. He gazed into her perfect cinnamon eyes for a few moments. He was lost in Mai's bright shining eyes and for the first time he realized he always had been. They gave him the light he had lost in Gene's passing. He had been so lost he did not know if he would be able to go on at first and if it had not been for the sorrow he witnessed within his mother's eyes he would have taken his life without a second thought. He had believed he would never recover from his brother's death and he had no direct intention of ever recovering. Naru had lost faith that day and had denounced God outright not believing many of the things his parents had always pushed into his mind as a child. He had decided no God would allow such a terrible thing to happen. Not to him. Not to Gene; but then there was Mai; the fates that be brought Mai clumsily and haphazardly into his life._

_He had always known Mai had a keen intuition and smart head on her shoulders. She had been the first person to figure him out sense his brother had left England for Japan. Mai had not believed his façade in the classroom the first evening they had met, though she had not voiced it directly, he had known she had figured him out, or at the very least painted him strange. What normal seventeen year old boy would have the prideful and arrogant exterior he carried, especially in Japan? Naru had liked Mai from that moment on, not the 'cannot live without you' sort of like, at first, but he had always harbored feelings for the perky young woman with a quick tongue and clumsy exterior. He had found both things quite charming and Naru knew in his heart Mai loved him. He knew she had always loved him. He was a genius and to not see something so clearly displayed would be a ludicrous folly on his part. He silently cursed at himself for being so stupid. He had turned her away telling her it was Gene she was in love with, not him. But the truth was Naru had been seeing his dead brother Gene through and in Mai for a very long time. _

_Naru did not like the idea of using Mai as a replacement for Gene. His brother was irreplaceable and even the thought of using someone in that way disgusted the young scientist. It did justice to no one and Naru was of a social stature where marriage and relationships could be deemed as more of a fashion statement than based on real love; and yet, he knew he loved Mai. He had been cruel to her and he would never admit it to anyone but himself. Madoka had ripped him apart after the case in the labyrinth mansion and made sure he 'knew' how 'stupid' he was. Naru smirked at the thought and shook his head and as he did he once again became aware of Mai's eyes. However, instead of the normally bright auburn color he had become so fond of over the past two years he was met with a dull and almost deathlike red. Mai's eyes glowed for a few short moments and then before Naru could do anything about it they closed and Mai collapsed into a heap on the floor. He tried to reach out to her, but reality set in swiftly when he lunged forward to catch her and was close lined by the rope around his neck._

_Naru bit back a yelp as he felt the tight ligature dig into his neck. He looked down at the fallen figure of Mai and felt his eyes go wide in panic. She looked pale as death and he could not tell if she was breathing or not. He felt his heart begin racing even faster in his chest when he realized his throat was too dry and swollen to make any sound. He managed to force out a dry and agonized, "Ma…Ma…i? Wa…ake up!" Naru clenched his eyes shut as the pain from his words hit his throat fully. _

_Naru felt something slide slickly down his skin and realized there was sweat beading down his forehead and neck. Suddenly he remembered the fire which had started in the room after he knocked over the old fashioned oil lamp. Naru immediately tried to muster the last of his strength. He had to get Mai out of the barn and somewhere safe. Focusing all of his energy, Naru began to pull all the strength he had left and focus. After a few minutes he realized his PK was not working – in fact the normal influx of air and energy he would feel upon using it was completely absent. Naru began to attempt to free himself in desperate silence and before he knew what had happened his eyes were averted to Mai who was now screaming in agony as her body began to be consumed by the flames. Naru's desperation turned to sheer terror and he felt his eyes glaze over, blurring his vision with threatening tears. He looked on as Mai's pale skin began to melt and smelled the horrendous odor of burnt flesh in the air. He glanced into her now agonized eyes and listened in horror as her voice came like a whisper, "You did this to me…you killed me…it is all your fault…" _

_Naru could not stand it anymore, he could not watch Mai writhing in agony. He could not watch her pale skin charcoal before his eyes; he could not listen to the anger and pain in her voice. Before anything else could happen or stop him Naru screamed, feeling his entire body jolt with the tormented sound as it left his body._

**GHOST HUNT **

Lin and Takigawa shot forward in their seats when Naru's scream pierced the air. It was loud enough to wake the dead and before Lin could stop him, Naru sat up from the bed he had been laying upon, a cold sweat covering his body. Lin managed to make it to the bed and support the younger man as he heaved forward in pain, "Naru," Lin began quietly, no emotion in his tone, "you should not be moving around. Your injuries are not life threatening…_yet_ and…" Lin paused when he noticed Naru had not comprehended any of the words coming out of his mouth. His young associate's eyes were stretched in avid horror obviously still seeing something which was no longer there. Lin backed away from Naru slowly, bringing a hand to rest upon his right shoulder, "Naru…what did you see? What happened out there?" Lin cared about the younger boy, but was not stupid enough to get too close to him in such a state. Lin had witnessed Naru's PK out of control before and it was not a place he wanted to go back to anytime soon. Silently he recalled the day a younger version of Naru had been unable to control his emotions. Luella had been beside herself with worry and Martin had instructed Lin that Naru would be trained immediately in techniques to control such emotional outbursts. Lin sighed heavily; most of Naru's lack of emotion was not his fault, it was necessity for his survival.

**GHOST HUNT**

"_I will not have it Martin! I will not have my son die from something which could be controlled…that should be controlled. This cannot go on! I cannot stand it again…do you know how hard it is to watch your 10 year old son lay in an ICU bed with a respirator hooked up to his throat because he isn't strong enough to breath on his own?" Luella eyed her husband dangerously before continuing, "I mean, MY GOD, look at him – all of those damned machines are keeping him alive right now and all over a stupid interview session at a conference! HIS LIFE is not a toy and neither are his abilities! I will not have it martin! I WON'T HAVE IT!"_

_Martin eyed his wife tiredly. They had spent the last few hours watching their youngest son being poked and prodded and hooked up to many different machines. Martin glanced at him through the glass of his ICU room and then back to his distraught wife, "Luella, calm down…I will speak with Madoka and Lin. I will make sure something like this never happens again," Martin's face turned to a disgruntled glare as he thought about the reporter who had called his older son, Gene, a fraud during an interview based on mediums and ghostly activity. Noll had become so angry in the defense of his older brother he had lost control of his emotions and nearly killed several people at the conference. Martin smirked at the thought of the headlines he would have to deter: "Crazed Adolescent Attempts Murder" or "Childhood Genius Destroys Sanctuary". It had not been the younger boys fault in the least, but the papers and paparazzi would never let any of them forget it._

_Martin laid a comforting hand on his wife's shoulder and rubbed it gently, "The boys will be fine. Noll will be fine…he is strong Luella. He always comes out on top, just keep fai…"_

_Luella suddenly cut him off as a nurse came toward them, "Yes…news? Is he going to be okay?"_

_Lin had been silently sitting beside Madoka since they had arrived at the hospital. The two had been terrified when Noll had collapsed so suddenly and without warning. Neither of them had realized just how powerful the young boy was. They never imagined his PK was strong enough to destroy and tear down the strong stone walls of a church. It was amazing his body still worked at all. It had been obvious; however, his body had shut down almost immediately after the surge of energy wracked his small form. Madoka had rushed forward to catch him and Lin remembered holding Gene back as the EMS team began to resuscitate the younger of the two boys._

_Lin rested a reassuring hand on Madoka's own for a moment and then stood walking toward the window of Noll's ICU room as Luella and Martin stepped out to speak with the doctor. After they had brought Noll to the ER and placed him in a room, Gene had barged through door and refused to leave his brother's side. He was plopped down on Noll's bed, his head laying against his younger brother's chest. His eyes were open and almost counting the heartbeats. He had been horrified at the possibility Noll could pass away. Lin eyed the boys and for the first time he could see how similar the two siblings really were. If one was only looking at their physical attributes, they would think them carbon copies of one another._

**GHOST HUNT**

After a moment Naru turned to face Lin and slowly began to reclaim his senses, allowing Lin to aid him in lying back down against the soft pillow, "I have not dreamed since Gene passed away…" Naru was surprised at how raspy and ragged his voice sounded when he spoke and gave Takigawa a short nod of thanks when the man offered him a drink of water.

"No problem…" Takigawa's response was short and filled with concern.

"I'm fine…" Naru knew what the older man was thinking; it was painted upon his face. He chose to leave the insult alone for the moment. There were more pressing matters at hand, mainly Mai and her condition. Naru needed to know where she was and how she was doing, "Lin…where is Mai?"

Lin sat silently for a moment. He was glad Naru had finally awoken from his silent coma-like sleep. He had been unconscious when they found him. Lin shivered slightly as he remembered the events which had transpired nearly twelve hours earlier and the serious state they had found both Naru and Mai in, "She was taken to the local clinic. Miss Matsuzaki is currently with her and aiding in her care. Miss Arai and her daughter went with them," Lin paused before looking away from his young friend and coworker, "We found the two of you in Easton's private barn. You were hanging from a support beam, by your neck, unconscious. Mai was on the floor of the barn unconscious as well. You have both sustained serious injury, but none life threatening. You ended up with multiple lacerations on your chest and lower torso and a concussion. You also have two broken ribs, I am sure I do not need to tell you about your neck," Lin paused again, reaching out and dimming the light slightly. He could see Naru squinting at its bright warmth, "Mai was taken to the clinic to treat some burns she sustained from the fire. It was brilliant Naru…to knock the lamp over…I am not sure you would be here if you had not had the mindset to do that. The fire alerted us to the problem, we never set cameras or audio feeds up in that area."

Naru nodded and soon wished he had not shifted his head. The bruising and rope burn from his previous predicament reminded him just how severe his situation had been. He reached up to touch his neck, in an attempt to alleviate the searing pain, but Lin stopped him, "I wouldn't do that if I were you," Lin paused turning to begin typing, "some of the skin broke open and it would be a pain to have to re-bandage the wound so soon."

Naru smirked in annoyance, swiftly averting his eyes from the tall Chinese man, looking at the wall, _"So she was hurt,"_ he thought silently to himself as he continued to bore holes into the wall. He shifted unconsciously and accidently allowed his left arm to come into contact with his chest. He let out a muffled groan and Lin stood immediately. Naru watched the man grab a pill bottle and the glass, "Forget it Lin…I am fine."

Lin smirked as he walked over to the overly confident young man lying in the bed, "Don't kid yourself. One would recommend not being an imbecile in this type of situation. Take the pills and get some rest, there is little we can do tonight anyway. I can always call your parents if you would rather."

Naru glared at Lin dangerously but after a moment, he gingerly took the glass and pills from Lin, swallowing them silently. To be honest he could not remember so much pain being present in his body at one time. He was exhausted and he knew he needed rest, but Naru did not like admitting defeat of any kind. It was not in his nature to be wrong and he had always had great pride in his ability to always figure things out. This case, in general, made him want to throw up; or maybe it was the pain. It could have been the pain pills, but in any case, he was fed up and very angry. The spirits on the ranch were literally at his last nerve, "I will solve this case Lin…if it is the last…thing…I…" as quickly as it had started, Naru's voice was once again fell silent as the pain pills took effect.

Takigawa eyed Lin suspiciously, "How many pills did you give him?"

"Enough…" Lin's response was quick and annoyed.

Takigawa looked at Naru again and winced. When they had found Naru and Mai they looked terrible. Takigawa's first reaction was they had both been killed before they could reach them. Neither of the young investigators had been breathing. The scene had scared the monk more than any entity or spirit he had ever encountered or seen before. Even the Urado case was less nerve racking than finding his two young friends near death.

**GHOST HUNT**

_Lin had been the first one to notice the strange smoke drifting into the house. Naru had left the front door open and Lin had been left with the cold air drifting into the house. He looked out the door and decided to investigate the strange smoke. He had never seen a haunting where smoke was produced and he could not remember a journal or publication which spoke of smoke entering or leaving a house during a haunting. Fires were common, but smoke was not so common on its own, so Lin figured there had to be a source. After stepping outside Lin followed the source of the smoke and his eyes went wide at the sight of the barn almost completely engulfed in flames. He then noticed the small footprints in the snow followed by larger ones which had taken wider strides. He almost had a panic attack when he realized whose footprints they must have been and where they led. Running back into the house, Lin screamed up the stairs, "Takigawa! John! Outside now!"_

_The two men threw themselves down the stairs and looked at Lin who was already in route to the barn. The men ran behind him and stopped just before running into him, "What's up Lin?" Takigawa spoke a little out of breath._

"_Naru and Mai are inside…" Lin spoke sliding the door to the barn open._

"_No WAY!" Takigawa screamed again and John nodded in silent seriousness. The flames licked the doorway and Lin saw a waterspout and pumped water from the ground, praying the water would come up. Finally after what was truly only a few seconds, icy cold water sprayed forth and Lin ripped his suit coat off, "John…find Mr. Walker and call an ambulance. Takigawa…wet your shirt and help me get them out." _

_Takigawa silently wet his shirt and covered his face with it and just as the two men were ready to enter Mr. Walker came riding up with several of the ranch hands, water in tow, "I have already called it in…we saw the blaze from a little further out."_

"_Mr. Shibuya and Mai are inside…there is no time to wait…" Lin said seriously enter the burning building, before Easton could do anything to stop him._

_Takigawa side glanced Easton and followed Lin into the abyss, which resembled Hell. Easton cursed under his breath and reached a hand up to push his hat further onto his head, "Get it put out…do whatever you can to stop the blaze. I won't have anyone die here today!" The ranch hands moved quickly in an attempt to extinguish the flames._

_Takigawa had underestimated the amount of heat the fire would press upon his person by entering the building. He felt as if he would smother in the intense heat and he could not imagine Mai and Naru still being alive, but he pressed on. His head shot up when Lin's deep baritone called to him, "Over here!"_

_Takigawa made his way carefully to Lin's voice and his eyes went wide in horror. Mai was sprawled painfully upon the floor of the barn and Lin was using his coat to extinguish the flames near her legs. Her jeans were ripped and charred in areas and Takigawa winced when he saw the dark red bloody mess under the stretched denim. Though Mai's legs were burnt everything else on her person seemed normal. She was extremely pale and shoot covered her from head to toe, "That is not all…" Takigawa followed Lin's eyes, turning his head and gasping. A short cough issued from his mouth after the sharp intake of smoky air._

"_MY GOD!" Takigawa simply stared at the image of Naru. He was limply hanging from one of the wooden support beams of the barn. Behind him was a scenery of smoke and flames. He was paler than Takigawa could ever remember him being and there were rips in his shirt and suit coat. He also had what seemed to be a black eye and contusion near his left temple. Takigawa would have sworn him dead if his deep blue eyes would have not opened at that very moment, "Lin…help me get him down, I am going to cut the rope. He is still alive."_

_Lin stood quickly in front of the noose held Naru ready to catch him. Takigawa pulled out a pocket knife and cut through the thick rope and Naru's weight immediately fell toward the ground. Lin caught him easily and gently eased him down. Naru's legs had buckled immediately and as he fell his eyes once again closed. Takigawa bent down and lifted Mai's unconscious form, "We have to get out of here…come on!"_

_Lin nodded and lifted Naru, the thick rope still around his neck and both men rushed out of the fire filled building. They had not been outside more than a few seconds when the building began to collapse behind them. _

"_Everyone back! Let her fall!" Easton's voice bellowed out over the mess which had once been his peaceful and private retreat._

_Ayako had made her way out to the fire leaving Alice and Rika with Masako. John was also there and both ran immediately toward Lin and Takigawa. _

"_What happened!" Ayako's voice was filled with concern and bit of desperation._

"_No time to have a nervous breakdown Ayako! Mai's been burnt pretty severely and Naru was hanging inside the barn," As Takigawa spoke, Lin gently pulled the noose from around Naru's neck and everyone was relieved when a painful set of coughs racked his body._

"_He has been injured too," Lin said quickly as Easton handed him a wet rag. Lin took it without a word and cleaned Naru's face off. Both Mai and Naru had been covered in soot and debris from the fire._

_Ayako met Takigawa first and began to observe Mai's injuries, "The burns are significant in severity, but she should be fine with proper treatment. I worry more about infection than anything else. Is there a clinic nearby?" Ayako turned toward Easton and smiled reassuringly when he nodded yes, "Please take her there Mr. Walker. I will meet you after I tend to Naru. John go with them. I will keep Monk her with me," Mr. Walker nodded and lifted Mai into his arms, he looked at John and after a short conversation the men walked off toward the vehicles. Ayako turned toward Lin and Naru._

"_Let's get him inside," Ayako said in a tone which dared them to defy her. Lin nodded and lifted Naru up into his arms, one arm under his knees and the other supporting his back. Takigawa immediately caught Naru's head before it could move too much. It was surreal to see him so limp and helpless. It was just not right and all would agree It was not settling. There had been a time when Takigawa would have wished to see Naru put into a situation where he was left helpless, but not now and not like this. _

_They carefully carried him into the house and up the stairs to one of the bedrooms. As they came into the house they were met with a shocked and worried Rika, "Oh my goodness! What happened to him?" Rika eyed them seriously. _

"_I don't know yet…" Lin said this seriously, "…we probably won't know until either he or Mai wakes up."_

_Rika nodded silently, "I will heat up some water and towels."_

"_Yes, thank you," Ayako spoke quickly more concerned with looking over the semi-conscious coworker limply laying in Lin's arms, "Lay him on the floor – Takigawa I need a blanket or towel! Anything he we can lay him on while I examine him."_

"_You got it!" Monk pulled a blanket from the bed and laid it on the floor. Lin then laid Naru gently onto the blanket and recoiled a little when he let a pained yelp at the impact._

_Ayako grabbed a pillow and propped it under his body, "Lin can you get his shirt off for me?" Lin nodded and as soon as he was undressed Ayako began to look over his injuries. There were multiple lacerations across his chest and lower torso. Some had completely broken the skin while others left ragged bruises in his pale hide. Ayako watched Naru's head roll back, "Someone support his neck…" Lin took post at his young boss's head and held it in place. Ayako turned to look at his neck. The skin had almost worn away in areas and deep purple bruises were covering the skin on his neck. There was also a laceration near his right eye and the area around that eye was swollen and bruising as well. He was breathing normally, however, so Ayako decided his injuries were most likely superficial, "Alright, let's get to it!"_

**GHOST HUNT**

"We need to figure out the cause of these happenings," Lin spoke through the exhaustion which was weighing heavily on his shoulders, "I believe Mai and Naru are being targeted specifically, but I am not sure why. I am not completely convinced it has to do with their upbringing. It is imperative we try to figure out what is going on here. I fear the spirits in this location are strong enough to follow us should we leave and…" Lin cut himself off in thought, "Takigawa I need to do some research. Stay with Naru and keep an eye on Masako and Miss Arai."

Takigawa eyed him suspiciously, "What are you thinking?"

"I don't know yet. I need some time to think. I am going to find Yasuhara and have him assist me. I will be back shortly," Lin stood as he spoke and put on his winter coat.

"Alright," Takigawa sighed, "I will hold down the fort."

"When Ayako returns with Mai bring her to this room, I believe it will be safer if we keep them both away from Miss Hara. Protect them both…" Takigawa sent another sly look in Lin's direction and nodded in silence. He was not sure what Lin was thinking about or what he had discovered, but he was willing to wait. He nodded in Lin's direction as he left the room.

Takigawa turned back to Naru who was still and quiet. He walked over to the bed he was laying upon and looked over the younger man for a moment. His chest was wrapped from just under his armpits to his lower torso. They had redressed him in a pair of comfortable blue pajama pants from his bag. His neck was also covered in a thick roll of bandages. Ayako had chosen to wrap bandages around the circumference of his head to try and keep the wound clean and relieve some of the swelling near his eye. Takigawa pushed back a chuckle; Naru looked like he had been hit by a really large man in a boxing fight. The bandages on his chest and torso were beginning to soak up a little blood. Takigawa reached out and pulled the blanket up and over Naru. He then took a fatherly hand brushed his hair back gently. He had done it unconsciously and pulled back quickly when Naru shifted slightly and rolled onto his left side, "Mai…I'm sorry…" Takigawa was shocked at the younger man's words but settled down after a few more moments and returned to the comfortable chair he had been sitting in before Naru had woken up. He kept a silent watch after that and eventually drifted to sleep.

**GHOST HUNT**

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: A big thank you to all of my readers! Many thanks also to the favorites and support through reviews! This has been a tough story to complete…I promise it will be finished…I was going to make this chapter longer in the beginning, but I wanted to make sure there was not a huge cliff-hanger this time because I am not sure how long the next chapter will take. I will be updating as soon as possible, however, please continue to review and let me know what you think of the story! **

**Also for new readers please note, it is not necessary to read the three previous stories I have written to enjoy this one, but cases and events I make mention to in this story are solidified in my other Ghost Hunt stories. Feel free to check them out! **

**If you would like me to read stories you have written, Ghost Hunt or not, let me know about them in your review! I would love to read and review them for you! **

**Also I would like to know if anyone out there would be interested in a contest. I have not thought about what the medium for the contest would be yet, but I would feature a character of the winner's making in my next long Ghost Hunt story. You would have input on the plot and character for the next one shot I write. I like to do new things…so I thought some of you might find this to be something fun. Let me know what you think about the idea! Happy reading!**

**Many thanks and much love!**


	12. Revelations

**DISCLAIMER - I do not in any way own Ghost Hunt or its characters. I do, however, own all rights to the original characters within as well as the basic plot for this story. Don't be a mooch! ^_^**

**Chrysanthemum Sunrise**

Chapter 12 – Revelations

It was several hours before Naru found the strength to open his eyes again. He found himself sighing heavily and shifting under the thick blanket over his tired body. He was stiff and utterly exhausted, two things he hated being more than anything else. He began to contemplate getting up from the bed and finding someone to brew him some tea, when a soft sigh caused his seemingly calm and silent thoughts to halt suddenly. Without thinking he twisted his head over his left shoulder, biting back a yelp and shooting a hand to his still damaged throat in one fluid motion. His eyes were wide with a mixture of shock and curiosity; however, they softened considerably when he realized the soft sound had come from the sleeping form of Mai.

Naru slowly forced his aching body to roll onto his right side. It took longer than he wanted; however, he eventually managed to face his slumbering assistant. He was looking at her with scrutinizing eyes, taking in every single bit of her body which was showing and doing a mental checklist of her injuries. He had never expected such a situation to play out during the case and he would have never accepted the bloody thing if he had known such negative repercussions would happen. For the most part, she looked fine. Her hair was clean and though her skin was paler than normal, she seemed to have a hint of color returning. Her right hand and wrist was bandaged with soft gauze and Naru assumed this to be one of the areas where she had been burned by the flames.

Naru sighed heavily and managed to sit up in his bed, shifting his legs under the blankets in the process. He was not wearing a shirt, but a clean pair of his blue pajama pants adorned his lower half. On a bedside table between his and Mai's beds he saw a folded pajama top and silently thanked Lin for his thoughtfulness. Although it was humorous to allow Mai to blush, he did hate to be so un-modest in front of any woman.

Naru turned his body slowly and gently, in an attempt to lessen any further damage to his aching body. Gingerly he managed to pull the button down shirt onto his slender frame and began to button it when the girl next to him shifted and slowly opened her eyes, yawning, while she spoke, "Naru…" Mai's glance was confused, "…where…what happened?"

Naru smirked for a moment, choosing his words carefully, "Well Mai, after you tried to kill me, we were brought…" Naru was unable to finish his jest when he watched Mai shoot straight up in her bed, causing obvious discomfort on her behalf.

"Tried to ki-OWW!" Mai winced, curling in on herself and though it hurt Naru found himself instantly raising from his own bed to aid her.

"Don't move yet stupid!" Naru eased her back down, "You were burnt in the fire…"

Mai opened her squinted eyes still confused about the circumstances, "I don't understand…"

Naru shook his head, biting back a wince as his neck rubbed against the bandages, "Nevermind…" Naru sighed plopping his body back onto his own bed, "…it is probably best you don't remember what happened," Naru looked at her and smirked, "Get some sleep…you will need it…" Naru eyed her again having discovered the girl had already closed her eyes and fallen back into a slumber. Shaking his head, Naru too lay back down to rest.

Lin had been researching the property for the better part of four hours and he had turned up very little to show for it. Sighing, he turned to Yasuhara, whom he had met up with earlier, "Anything?"

Yasuhara sighed, removing his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose before putting the spectacles back on, "Nothing we have not already seen a million times or heard from Mr. Walker," he sighed again, "Except, this name…" he pushed a book toward Lin, "…this name keeps popping up over and over again. Kimi Higuraishi," Yasuhara slammed another book, in obvious exasperation, "…who the hell is this woman? There is no record of her being a part of the Fujioka family. Yet her name continuously pops up in the history of the ranch. There is no record of her birth or her death…there is no record of her address, her job, her livelihood…she is a damn…" Lin laid a hand on Yasuhara's before he raised his voice any louder.

"What if Kimi doesn't truly exist…" Yasu eyed Lin carefully, with curiosity building, "…look at these dates? This name dates back before Fujioka and after…Kimi Higuraishi…what if it is a code…a prefix?"

"I've got it!" Yasu almost screamed with glee, however, remembering they were in a local library he bowed apology to all the patrons and sat back down, "It is a code Lin…a code for a group of women. I believe I have solved the problem on this ranch and I also believe Mr. Walker and Ms. Arai have not been completely honest about certain things. I need to speak with Naru…" without another word, Yasu grabbed his coat and the books, Lin following silently behind.

Ayako and Monk had been battling over case theories for about the better part of two hours. John had been trying to keep them as quiet as possible. Lin had told Monk to stay with Naru, however, after Ayako and John had returned with Mai he decided a spirit ward would be enough to keep the two safe. Rika was still attending Miss Hara in a separate bedroom down the hall from Naru and Mai.

"I still say it is the work of an earth spirit!" Ayako's shrill voice was about to split hairs.

"Yeah…" Monk paused, crossing his arms before responding further, "…and I still say you are full of shi…"

"Now…now…" John finally stood between the feisty cat and stubborn dog to create a cease fire, "…let's not get carried away. I think it is safe to say no one knows what is to blame just yet."

Ayako and Monk continued to glare at one another over John's shorter form and were about to go at it again when Lin and Yasu burst through the front door, "Where's Naru?" Yasu's voice was more demanding than normal and Ayako eyed him angrily, "It is _imperative_ I speak with him immediately!"

"He's upstairs…end of the hall-…"Monk was cut off by a sudden thud, "What the hell…"

Silence filtered the air for a moment. Lin nearly leaped to the cameras; his eyes were scanning for any abnormalities. He was determined to disrupt anymore dire situations on this particular case. Suddenly his eyes fell to Miss Hara's room and they widened for a moment, "Monk, Hara's room, now! There has been a disturbance…Miss Arai is unconscious and Masako is missing!"

Monk high tailed it up the stairs followed closely by the others. Monk ran to what was Miss Hara's room to find Miss Arai unconscious and bleeding, "Ayako help her…John, Yasu carry her down to the fire room!"

Silence once again took the group as a surprised grunt and Mai's scream ushered from further down the hallway. Monk and Lin rushed to the last bedroom and stopped in shock at what they saw. Masako stood, uncomfortably holding a small axe, most likely one of the wall adornments in the western styled house. There were two holes in Naru's mattress and feathers filtered through the air. If the situation had not been so dire it would have appeared almost humorous.

"Die…you scum…" Masako's soft childlike voice was deeper than normal as she spoke, "…I won't serve you any longer. I'm not your whore." Naru was shielding Mai from anymore possible attacks and he eyed Masako strangely, contemplating her words. Before she could swing her weapon once more, Lin ushered a swift blow to the back of her neck, easily knocking the young woman back into unconsciousness.

"Lin…" Naru eyed him with a smirk, "…perfect timing. As always."

"Are you hurt?"

"We're fine…" Naru looked at Miss Hara with curiosity. She had been unconscious before now and he found her words odd, to say the least, "Has Yasu returned?"

"Yes," Lin nodded, "He and I returned moments ago."

"Monk, stay with Miss Hara," Naru turned back to Lin, "Lin take Mai down to the base. Keep everyone there, except Yasuhara; I will speak to him here. I believe this case is about to become very fragile. Even the slightest of mishaps could prove unfortunate." Lin nodded in understanding.

Naru turned to Mai, "Mai…I am asking you to trust me. Do you understand?"

Mai nodded as Lin gently handed Miss Hara to Monk and lifted her from her bed. It was at this moment Naru was able to take in the full extent of Mai's injuries and he found himself ridden with guilt and anger. He was furious for allowing her to endure so much pain. As soon as all of his team was out of sight Naru sighed heavily, "I will make this right again…I swear it."

**Author's Note:** Well there you have it. Chapter 12 is finished and out. I hope you enjoy it! The mystery will be explained soon…I promise…however, some of you might have already figured it out. Hopefully I have not given too much away! Please review and tell me what you think! I know this chapter is not as long as some of the others, however, the next chapter will be quite long. ^_^

Enjoy!

Update Soon!

The Crazy Cheezer


	13. The Games We Play

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry this is so late…but guess what? Two updates in 24 hours! The next chapter is written and ready to be posted…but I wanted to let you all get reacquainted with the story before posting the crazy action packed chapter! Hopefully you have not forgotten me or this story! I have been crazy with real life, as many of you can understand! Without further ado…HERE WE GO!**

"So we are in agreement then?" Yasu's voice was laced with apprehension as he watched Naru stare blankly out the only window in the modest bedroom.

"Yes," was his quiet reply.

"You are sure about this?" Yasu was eyeing him seriously and hung his head as Naru nodded solemnly. Both young men were not sure the plan they had concocted would work, but they had decided it was the only remaining option at this point. After an hour long discussion both boys had come to an agreed hypothesis of the situation and had knuckled down a plan. Both were unsure of the outcome.

"It is our only option. The others must remain in the dark if this is going to work. I hate leaving them out, it is risky, but in order for the spirits to respond the reactions will need to be pure hearted. Are you prepared for the possible side effects of this scenario Naru?" Yasu paused his words for a moment, "She could end up hating you after this one and I..."

"Enough chatter," Naru rubbed his temples attempting to massage his oncoming headache away, "It is the only plausible option. I need to you alert the authorities at the appropriate time...do you understand?" Naru eyed Yasu in a sideways glance and closed his tired eyes with a sigh when Yasu responded with a sharp nod, "Good..." Naru paused standing and Yasu shot an arm out immediately when Naru faltered in his stance, "...stop...I am not an invalid!"

Yasu drew his hand back immediately and nodded. It was honestly the first he had seen of Naru since before the accident. He looked dreadful. Yasu winced a little as he watched Naru turn and attempt to hide his limp as he gathered up a clean pair of clothes in his arms. Yasu noted the various bandages covering his pale skin as Naru slowly began to remove his pajama shirt and change into his normal black attire. Naru chest and back carried dark, painful looking welts and bruises and his fingers were bright pink, in a way which reminded Yasu of rope burn. The worst sight, however, was the bandage around Naru's neck. Hints of red were beginning to peek through the lily white of the bandages and Yasu shivered at the thought of what lay beneath them.

Naru was beginning to realize the most unfortunate side effect of his injuries was the painful inability to raise his arms above his head. He had managed to remove his buttoned pajama shirt with little pain, but pulling the turtle neck styled black sweater on was almost too painful a thought to bear. His body ached with the very slightest of movements and Naru was beginning to panic internally. He hated being weak...he hated being hurt...he hated being useless. Naru did not realize he had unconsciously begun to wring the black cashmere shirt so tightly between his fingers his knuckles had become white with strain.

Yasu, who had been watching Naru carefully for the past few minutes, noticed the slight lack of control in Naru's figure and stood to take action, "Naru, your bandage looks a little worse for wear. Why don't you let me change it for you before you change? I can see some blood peeking through," Yasu pulled Naru from his angry thoughts and watched as his boss's hands relaxed their iron grip on the fabric, "The last thing you need is an infection to top off your _wonderful_ day. It would be the cherry on top of a bloody awful day. Yes?"

Naru decided to ignore his friend's sarcastic words. He could tell Yasu was attempting to cheer his foul mood, but he decided he looked pathetic enough without giving a spoken response. He sighed heavily and tensed only slightly as Yasu raised a pair of medical scissors toward his neck. Naru had not thought about the repercussions of removing the bandage from his neck until this moment and as painful as it was with the bandage one Naru could only imagine how it would hurt to remove and replace the blasted cloth.

"That's alright," Yasu sighed half heartedly as he carefully began to snip away at the gauze encircling Naru's neck, "You don't have to say anything. I know how you feel. We all do," Yasu pulled back a bit as Naru winced sharply, "...even Mai. You do not have to be afraid of letting us in you know. We aren't going anywhere."

Naru listened stoically to Yasu as he spoke and wondered why the young man was wasting so much breath on the obvious, however, somewhere in the back of his mind Naru found himself relieved by the words. In truth he was terrified of the very thought of being left all alone. He was more afraid of the prospect than anything else in the world. When Gene had passed away he believed he would never feel whole again. Somehow, over the past two years the haphazard Japanese crowd he associated with had become a second family. He found himself comforted by the thought.

Yasu winced as he gazed at Naru's now bare neck. The flesh was bright red and oozing blood. Bruises, dark and heavy wrapped around both sides and stretched done his shoulders and collarbone, "This might sting..." Yasu said it as he applied the antiseptic fluid and winced again as Naru bit back a yelp. Yasu quickly finished cleaning the entire wound and sighed heavily. Naru looked exhausted from his ministrations, "...almost done."

Naru sighed as Yasu gently wrapped gauze back around his pain neck. He waited two ticks to reach for his sweater, but Yasu beat him to it, "You know Naru," Yasu paused opening the bottom of the sweater and holding it out for Naru to stick his arms through. There was a brief fleck of embarrassment which flooded Naru's eyes, much to Yasu's amusement. He had always had a twisted sense of humor, "...not everyone can afford such nice things. Just put the damn sweater on."

Naru shoved his arms through quickly and allowed Yasu to pull the warm fabric down over his neck. He stood on his own and continued to change into a black pair of slacks, a black belt, socks and shoes. Sighing, Naru used a hand to rummage through his raven hair.

"Well don't you look spiffy," Yasu smiled sarcastically.

"Your humor is wearing on my nerves," Naru sneered slightly in Yasu's direction.

"To treat me so terribly after I cared for you so carefully..." Yasu feigned sadness.

"Let's get to work..." Naru grumbled as he opened the door to the bedroom and a little more carefully than normal, began to make his way down the hall. Yasu took note of every detail of Naru's movements and mannerisms. He could tell his young boss was in pain both mentally and physically. He would have to keep an extra careful eye on him from here on out, Naru just wasn't the normal Naru.

Both young men made their way downstairs and Lin looked up at them immediately, "Naru!" Lin's tone was short and very fatherly, "You should not be out of bed!"

Naru sent him an irritated glance and turned to face the rest of the group, "Where are Mr. Walker and Miss Arai and their daughters?"

John looked up thoughtfully, "They went out to pasture. Mr. Walker spoke of getting the horses in before the sun went down. Since the workers were off for the day the family went out to pasture the horses themselves."

Naru eyed the group carefully, "Right. Then we will join them," Naru ignored the confused looks the group, save Masako, sent him as he spoke, "Miss Matsuzaki you will stay here with Miss Hara and Mai."

"Right, sure thin…" Mai cut Ayako off sharply.

"WHAT?" Mai glared in Naru's direction, "Why do I have to stay here? I WANT TO GO!"

"Do not be ridiculous Mai," Naru's voice was laced with frustration, "Have you forgotten you were injured? You can barely walk right now."

"Have you forgotten you nearly died?" Mai's anger matched his own and her eyes became tighter as she glared at him harder.

"No," Naru turned to look at her, misdirected rage in his own sapphire orbs, "Have you forgotten _you_ nearly killed me?" Naru was immediately sorry he let the words spill forth. Instantaneous guilt hit him like a ton of bricks. However, his person did not show it. He watched as Mai's eyes went wide and her mouth feel agape. Slowly, at a loss for words the young woman shut her mouth and looked away from him. Although he could not see her face clearly, Naru new she was crying. He watched as she gave a simple nod and remained silent after that.

The tension in the room could easily be cut with a knife. It was so thick, it was suffocating. No one was about to speak up on the topic. As much as they all hated to admit it, the truth was the truth. They all knew in their hearts it had not been Mai's intention to hurt Naru, but they could understand his anger at her "stupidity". The facts were the facts. Mai was injured and it would be foolhardy for her to accompany them outside.

Suddenly Naru's voice broke through the hard silence, "Get your coats," he paused for one more moment before turning, "Let's go," it took a few moments for everyone to bundle up. Mai watched with guilty eyes as Lin and Bousan gently eased Naru into his coat and scarf. She looked away too upset with herself to watch anymore. She had indeed hurt Naru. She had hurt the only man in the world which she had ever loved. Well the only man she had ever loved romantically. He was angry. He blamed her. Mai felt consumed by a sudden and unexplainable grief. Her heart hurt and her head hurt.

Ayako turned to the young woman after the others left, "Now Mai," Ayako smiled and walked over to the younger woman, wrapping an arm around her shoulders in a motherly way, "Don't be too hard on you. You know Naru is always gets mad after he has been incapacitated. He was simply suffering from misdirected rage…otherwise known as being an ass. You know he could never remain angry with you."

Mai sniffled and wiped her nose with her sleeve, "Ayako…he has never spoken to me in that way. Not even after the time I called him a murderer. I have never seen him so angry. I can't even think…I didn't know…I didn't know what I was doing. I don't remember any of it. I…I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!" Mai couldn't hold in her emotions any longer and she suddenly lunged toward the young miko, collapsing into her bosom and clutching her silk shirt. Mai sobbed. Mai cried like she had not cried since her parents had died and Ayako did all she could to comfort her.

"Naru," Lin's voice was tense as they shuffled through the snow to the horse pasture, "You still have not let us in on what is going on. This is ridiculous."

"You will know when I know Lin," Naru smirked, "I simply thought it would be fun to have a chat with our guests."

"Pardon me asking," John's twang tenor broke into the conversation, "But, Naru, couldn't this have waited till they came back to the house for dinner? I mean…it is cold out here and we are traipsing through the snow," Naru ignored the young priest, who looked at Monk. Both men shrugged and kept trudging through the dirt colored snow. It was obvious lots of foot traffic had occurred throughout the day.

Finally, the boys reached their destination and Naru motioned to the horse herding family to finish what they were doing and meet the group at the pasture entrance. It took a few moments, but soon Mr. Walker, Miss Arai, Alice and Sephora wandered over to the group. Sephora and Alice climbed on top of the fence while the older too stood with the group.

Naru eyed them both suspiciously and nodded almost microscopically to Yasu who moved toward the fence, "Mr. Walker," Naru looked at him seriously, "I have a few questions, if you have the time?"

Easton eyed Naru curiously for a moment, "Certainly Mr. Shibuya, should we go somewhere a little more private?"

Naru shook his head, "No…" he paused and brought a hand to his neck gently, "You see that did not work out so well for me last time."

"I see," Easton turned more serious, "Well then…what can I do for you? Have you made a break in the case perhaps? Found something new?"

Naru smirked and turned slightly, "You could say that," he paused and took a couple of steps closer to Easton. The rest of the group eyed him curiously, "Mr. Walker, may I ask where are all the female workers and students who supposedly reside on your property?"

Lin, Monk, and John widened their eyes immediately at the realization. Of course, they had not noticed before, but none of the female workers or students had yet to be seen by their eyes. Lin tensed and raised a hand momentarily to silence Monk.

Easton tilted his head for a moment and eyed Naru, "Why Mr. Shibuya…" he smirked, "…how observant. I suppose I forgot to mention, due to the happenings on the ranch I have requested they stay indoors. I wouldn't want their pretty little heads to become injured."

Naru eyed him carefully for a moment, "Really?" He turned toward Rika, "Is that true Miss Arai?"

"Yes…" Rika's voice was calm and collected.

"I see," Naru turned back toward Easton.

"Any more inquiries Mr. Shibuya?" Easton's voice was laced with something close to malice.

"Just one," Easton acknowledged for him to continue, "How long have you been studying the art of hypnotism? You are quite the master at it…"

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay…I know I promised a long chapter…but I did not feel like I could continue this one anymore without breaking up the action in the next chapter. The next chapter is crazy and full of action and suspense! Tune in again tomorrow night for the next action packed installment of Chrysanthemum Sunrise! **

**Please read and review! If I get enough reviews I will treat you to a new one-shot – it is Masako centered this time! Also please leave your two cents: should Naru and Mai get together in the end of this story or should the tension continue? Let me know what you all prefer!**

**Update Soon!**

**The Crazy Cheezer**


	14. Wicked Ways

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here is the next chapter...it borders on an M rating for subject matter and language, but nothing you wouldn't see on a cop drama or law and order. Be advised! Enjoy!**

Easton eyeballed Naru slyly for a moment before speaking, almost contemplating the words the younger man had said before choosing his own, "Why Mr. Shibuya, whatever do you mean? I am not sure I am understanding the accusation."

Naru stared at him stoically, not blinking. He could feel the others eyes wide and confused, "I think you know very well what I mean, Mr. Walker. You must be exhausted," Easton eyed him cautiously at that point, side glancing the younger girls on the fence as Naru continued, "I could not understand it at first. It was Yasuhara who brought it to my attention. In your original interview you mentioned a common prostitute had been privy to the ranch's original owner. We could not find any evidence of this woman's existence in the records regarding the ranch, however, one name kept coming up over and over again. Yasuhara and my assistant Lin could not understand why the same name would continuously keep popping up over the years."

"Is that so..." Easton smirked heavily.

Yasu's voice suddenly piped up, "Yes. It did take several hours for my brain to understand. The name Kimi Higuraishi repeated over and over again. I found it odd a name would be passed throughout the years so much and then I realized the name did not stand for one woman. It was something much more devious than that," Yasu eyed Mr. Walker in a disgusted way, "Kimi Higuraishi stood as code for a group of women. Although, most of the history is either missing or not there all together, I would gander to guess, Kimi was the first of these women and the mother of the bastard heir to this ranch," Easton was looking at Yasu fully now, almost sizing him up and Yasu smirked continuing, "Of course, I have no proof, but I believe that heir to be of great importance to the problem at this ranch and..."

Easton's eery laughter cut the young man off mid-sentence, "You couldn't leave well enough alone, could you? You couldn't just exorcise the damned spirits and be on your way. They weren't kidding when they said you were a genius Mr. Shibuya," he paused and looked up at Naru, who eyed him calmly, "If you had left well enough alone and taken care of the external problems you wouldn't be as hurt as you are now."

Naru's eyes betrayed him for an instant, but that was all Easton needed to know he had struck a nerve, "The truth is, Mr. Shibuya, you don't like having the underside of the stick. You are not used to being in the dark," He paused tipping his hat back slightly, leaning against the pasture fence post, "Well, let me do a little boy a favor. You want the truth, alright, I will give you the truth. Kimi Higuraishi was a whore. I bloody whore who spread her legs for that damned Fujioka. It was after the birth of her unclean child that Fujioka realized a lucrative business was to be had here. One far more profitable then horses or cattle. It was Kimi's job to recruit young women here," Easton paused and smirked at the other men's reaction, "Well, I shouldn't have to explain their purpose, you seem to be a rather exceptionally smart group of people. The illegitimate son was hidden in the shadows, kept in the dark, but his legacy continued. It passed from unworthy whore, to unworthy whore...until there was me."

Naru sneered internally at the man's derogatory language, it made him sick, "I take it your real name is not Easton Walker then?"

Easton smirked again, "Well aren't you something Mr. Shibuya? Like a prying baby puppy," Easton smiled at Naru's ruffled feathers, "No my name is indeed Easton, but the Walker part was a side, Fujioka would be my real surname," he paused yet again and smirked, "Has a nice ring to it don't you think? It was easy. After all seduction runs in the family. Rika was such a fool...so easy to use. After she was _violated _it was easy to manipulate her emotions. She was the perfect puppet to bring in merchandise. Killing her ties to the states was a little more difficult, but easy enough. You see Mr. Shibuya, hypnotism can be used for much more then fun and games."

Naru glanced at the three women still standing before them. They had not moved a muscle since the conversation had started. Alice, however, there was something about Alice. There had always been something about Alice which Naru just couldn't place, something off. Suddenly realization hit Naru, "You have been manipulating their minds for months. How much longer do you think you would have before one of them were to break? Alice has been pushing for a while. A person's mind can only be controlled for so long before it breaks."

Easton, smirked again and stood fully walking over to the young man in front of him, "I am quite aware of the repercussions Mr. Shibuya," he reached out roughly and suddenly a hand on the back of Naru swollen and damaged neck. The younger man faltered for a moment before glaring up at the older man, "However, Mr. Shibuya, all do respect I would worry a little less about the women if I were you."

It took Naru a moment to understand what Easton meant before he felt the older man's hand retreat from his neck and he felt a swift blow to his stomach. It had come out of nowhere and the pain was nothing compared to the sudden lack of air he felt. Naru fell to his knees instantly and looked up to see Monk staring blankly in his direction. Naru willed himself to steel as the other men in the group began to move toward him and he silently prayed for a miracle.

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Mai shot up suddenly from her restless sleep on the living room sofa. Ayako was at her side in an instant and laid a calming head to her head, "Mai, you are alright. I am here."

Mai turned her eyes toward Ayako with an unknown horror in them, "Ayako, I...I was suddenly...I was suddenly so scared," Mai paused bringing a shaking hand to her sweat soaked forehead, "Something is wrong...something is very, very wrong. Naru...I think...Naru is..."

Mai was cut off by movement and a soft sigh to her right. Ayako stood cautiously as both women realized Masako was coming to. The young medium blinked several times before clearly opening her eyes and sitting up.

"Are you really Masako, or still some crazed psychopath?" Ayako eyed her suspiciously for a moment.

"Excuse me...but I believe the only crazed person on the team is Mai!" Masako voice was laced with frustration and resentment.

"Yep..." Mai sighed a little momentarily forgetting the terror she held when she had woken up, "...it is the good old Masako."

Masako smirked in Mai's direction for a moment then looked at the Priestess for answers. Ayako obliged, "You nearly killed Naru and Mai with an axe while you were possessed."

Masako raised a hand to her mouth in bitter realization, "What will he think of me?" Mai rolled her eyes in silent thought of her own reactions to the overly dramatic medium.

"Enough," Mai changed the subject abruptly, "Something is wrong. I can sense that something is really wrong. I think Naru is in trouble."

"What kind of trouble?"

"I don't know Ayako...okay?" Mai brought her sore legs up to her chest, "I don't understand anything happening here! It is all too random and mixed up and crazy...but I do know my instincts and my instincts never lie! We need to find the guys...I think they are all in danger!"

Ayako looked at her for another moment, "Alright...I trust you. Lets get you dressed in something a little more appropriate," Ayako turned to look Masako up and down, "Both of you."

oooooooooooooooooooooooo

Naru felt like he had been hit by a flat of bricks and he shifted uncomfortably begging his eyes to open. However, as soon as his eyes blinked he was met with a swift backhand to his right cheek. The amount of force behind it forced his head to the side and he could feel blood fly from the side of his injured mouth. He let his head rest for a few moments at the battered position and wincing hard he looked up. It took him a few moments to realize he had no idea where he was and he was in no position to find out. His arms were attached to a section of rope and precariously hanging above his head, he guessed from either a wooden beam or a hook.

Turning his head uncomfortably he looked at the owner of the offending hand. Lin was standing straight as a statue looking at him with blank eyes. He was within arms reach, but obviously Naru realized it would be impossible to reach him in his current situation. However, he wanted to reach out and either strangle or hug the man.

Naru could feel blood seeping down his face from somewhere near his right temple and now from the right side of his mouth. He would be lying to say he was not uncomfortable. He could tell, however, all of his injuries were only skin deep. He would be bruised, lacerated and sore, but he would ultimately be fine. He did not understand what he had done lately to receive so many injuries, however. It seemed every case lately had ended with him getting hurt and he was starting to become weary of it. His eyes were suddenly alert when he heard an approaching chuckle.

"Where have you brought me?" Naru eyed Easton angrily.

"Somewhere safe," Easton reached out with agility Naru wasn't expecting and grasped his chin in an iron grip. If Naru had not just been hit, he wouldn't have flinched as much, but he honestly couldn't help it. He attempted to pull his eyes away from the man he now felt sickened by, but Easton roughly forced him to look directly at him, "Now Mr. Shibuya...you and I need to have an understanding. I..." Easton paused as Naru once again attempted to look away, sighing he swiftly landed a blow to Naru gut and immediately the younger man stilled, gasping suddenly and coughing up air and saliva, "...I want those women you have brought here. My customers would simply ravish over them. Especially the youngest. She seems to have a spark in her."

Naru breathed heavily attempting to regain his composure and his breath, "Not interested..."

Easton let go of the young man and once again laughed in a sadistic way. Naru sighed heavily. He could not fathom how wrong the situation had turned out. He was not expecting Easton to be capable of such sophisticated hypnotism. In fact, he was not sure he had even heard of hypnotism capable of controlling so many people for such long periods of time. Naru, himself, new enough of the art to plant ideas or actions into people's minds, but they were harmless at best. Nothing which would cause prolonged brain activity. Whatever Easton was playing with was as volatile as fire and it made Naru sick to his stomach to think about it. Naru was honestly very worried about the current scenario. He was literally alone in his knowledge of the case. Lin, John, Monk and Yasuhara were all currently under the sick twisted cowboy's control and the girls were precariously oblivious.

"You see," Easton lifted the younger man's chin gently and looked him directly in the eyes again, daring Naru to look away again. Naru decided against it, he was worried another blow to the stomach might make him hurl, "I run a business here. A business which relies on a certain product to be readily available."

"You're sick!" Naru sneered at Easton.

"No. It is simply business..."

Naru cut him off, "Human lives are not a business."

Easton let go of the younger man's chin and Naru body slumped forward unconsciously. Naru winced as the ropes around his wrists dug fire into his skin. Naru was by no means a portly person, but he wished he weighed about a hundred pounds less. His weight put an extremely large amount of pressure on his wrists and his feet were less then an inch away from the floor. What he would give to be able to reach the floor. It was like water sitting in front of a thirsty man but just out of his reach. Every fiber of his body hurt and he was exhausted.

Naru shook his head roughly, _"No...don't fall into the exhaustion. This is all a trick, he is trying to overpower you," _Naru intensely attempted to remind himself of his situation. He shifted uncomfortably trying to find a less painful position, but it was in vain. Moving only hurt more and he was sick and tired of being in pain.

"You look frustrated Mr. Shibuya," Naru sent him an angered glance and Easton laughed lightly as he watched Naru's vain attempt to gain more comfort, "The only comfort you will find is by giving in," Easton walked up to him, his face dangerously close to the young scientists, "Otherwise I can promise prolonged discomfort on your behalf."

Naru had had enough, suddenly and without warning he spit a mixture of blood and saliva right in Easton's face. He was livid, he was through with this man. His mind was racing with panic for Mai and his companions if he should fall prey to Easton's spell and he hoped his outburst would cause Easton to let his companions beat him into unconsciousness again. At least in his unconsciousness he could not hurt them...hurt Mai.

Easton recoiled, immediately wiping the sticky mixture from his face, "Well then Mr. Shibuya, I suppose we will have to do this the hard way," he backed up and with a wave of his hand Naru felt the first blow of many hit his tired body.

**Author's Note: Well there you have it! The next action packed chapter! So for anyone who is still confused Easton Walker is really Easton Fujioka and he is in the business of human trafficking. Rika, Alice and Sephora have been hypnotized from the beginning as well as the other workers on the ranch. He currently has all of Naru's male companions under his control. If you have more questions I would be happy to answer them! ^_^ Thanks for reading and reviewing! I will have another chapter up tonight!**

**Will Naru escape? Will Mai and the other girls be safe? Will they uncover the ghostly mystery of the ranch? Will Gene make another appearance? Tune in for the next chapter to find out!**

**Read and Review!**

**The Crazy Cheezer**


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